R'
by Matt Smith
Summary: An Ordinary Day Turns into An Apocalyptic Situation, Sending A Large Group of Friends Searching for Survival Against An Enemy That SHOULD be a mere work of Fiction.
1. Title Page

**R**

The title of this story is simply "R". The reason for this is that I'm not sure what to call it, and because of this, I feel that "R" is a good title. You can use your imagination as to what "R" stands for, or if it actually stands for anything. That part, I'll leave up to you, the reader. I do warn you, if you are not into roller coasters, you might not like this story, are it will get extremely wild, and extremely fictional – so fictional, you'll ask, "Who the fuck is this guy and where the fuck did he come from?"

But you can not say I did not warn you. This story will state exactly what comes to my mind as I write it – it comes from the moment I'm in. That said, if you don't agree with heavy violence, strong perverse language, sexual content, or any kind of adult themes, horror films, guns or weapons of any kind, I will ask that you stop reading any farther then this.

The following story is rated;

**R**

**R**estricted – for Perverse language and humor, extremely heavy violence, sexual references, blood and gore

Thank you for reading,

Matthew Smith – Creator of '**R**'


	2. Prologue

**Prologue: A Day In The Life**

**Matthew**

It was a normal day for me. I had gotten up around 10 in the morning, due to not having to be at work until 2pm. I would take a shower, get dressed, pack all the gear (I.E. Pager, Cell Phone, iPod Touch, Watch, Wallet, Notepad, Pen, Gum, ear phones for the iPod), before hopping on my computer. I'd make my bed, take care of some random things, and maybe talk to some friends online if they were on, before eating breakfast. I leave for work about 1pm, because I live like 30 minutes away, depending on traffic – that's on I4 no less.

I'd park in the McCray Garage – assuming that that's spelled right. Funny, how I park in a garage everyday and I don't know how to spell it's name. Strange. Most of my co-workers don't park there. Too much of a hassle for them to walk a few extra steps from the Alden garage to McCray I guess.

I go down stairs, to the office, put my lunch bag in one of the two fridges, before putting my keys and blue tooth headset in my locker, which I share with Afiya, one of my friends and co-workers. I would sit down, and relax, maybe – depending on my mood – have a conversation with my friends/co-workers, or just listen to my iPod and ignore them all – until 1:50pm arrives, in which I will clock in (We get an extra 10 minutes for some reason).

After that, I'd sit back down, and wait for 10 minutes until the manager(s) came in, to give us an energizer (which is pretty much just news from the hospital network, the hospital itself, and our department news. That, or we'd just get put to work, depending on if it's really busy or not. Once we get started, I'd put my self into our little dispatch system, in which, I'd use the phone and dial the number, enter my pin number, press 1 to update my status, press 1 to punch in, and then wait for the first call. It's fun, for sure!

"Alright folks. It's pretty slow today, so here's the good news. I need to know who wants to go home early." Austin, the manager on shift said, as he walked into the room.

Almost everyone in the room raised their hands. I looked around and rolled my eyes. I couldn't understand it. How could they afford to go home? Sure, their PDO covered any hours they missed automatically, but still. I'd much rather save that PDO for if I got sick acutely, or a vacation.

I put my iPod on my belt and leaned back in the purple leather couch that we somehow got handed down from some other department. "Alright. Well. Get out there then. Not much to tell you now." Austin said, and left the room.

"You never have anything for us now-days." I muttered, just loud enough to where Tim Hutchings could hear me. He looked over and laughed, agreeing with me. "Yeah, man. It's like, 'just get to work' these days."

I shrugged. "What can ya do with bosses?" I got up and went to the phone outside the door and dialed the number. The oh-so-sexy female robot voice for the system filled my ear. "Welcome to…" I entered my pin number, not giving her a chance to speak. "Press…" I hit 1. "Press…" I hit one again, becoming available for a call.

"Here we go again." I muttered. Suddenly my pager went off. I sighed. "I thought he said it was slow…" Christian laughed at me. "You are the only one in the system right now."

I made a face at him. "Watch it, boy." I hissed, playfully. "Uh-oh. Matt's in one of his moods guys…" He said, steering himself back into the break room. I turned and looked at my pager. To put it simply, it told me, to go to the 5th floor of the Ginsburg Tower, which was an CVICU (Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit), and pick up one Molly Deadwood, DOB 1/5/33 in a bed and take them to ER CT.

I sighed. Fabulous. In the notes it read **Wait****and****Return.** I rolled my eyes and marched out the door. I headed down the hall, and saw my best friend (at least, that's how I feel), Ouida, pushing a patient from the LEAN to ER CT. She was in charge of the LEAN track program, which helps get patients care faster by getting CT scans, X-Rays, and Ultrasounds done as quickly as possible, so the doc can review them, and care for them as needed. She had been selected specifically by the ED managers and our director personally to run the pilot for the program.

She did a splendid job too. I followed her into the CT room, where I was ambushed by her as she put her arms around me, and gave me a bear hug. I returned it, with a grizzly bear hug, as I put it. We released each other after a moment and she smiled. "How are you?" she asked. I shrugged. "I'm here." I said.

She nodded. "How are you?" I asked her. She shrugged. "Okay, I guess." It was my turn to nod now. "Ugh. Is it 1:30 yet?" She asked, referring to the end of her fourteen hour shift. I chuckled sadly. "No. Sorry chicky. You still got a while."

"I know…"

"Can I help with anything?"

"You have a call?"

"Yeah."

"What is it?"

"5816 to ER CT. Wait and return."

She nodded. "Go get 'em. I'll wait here for you."

I nodded. "Alright. Be back in a few."

She just smiled.

The elevators weren't slow at all. Maybe because it really was slow. I wasn't sure. Either way, I arrived at the room, and the nurse was sitting at the desk by the room. "16, for CT?" I asked, walking up to the door. She looked at me. "Excuse you?" She said. I cocked an eyebrow. "Uh… CT. Molly Deadwood, right?"

"Yeah. But you never called before you came up."

I blinked. _Not__my__job,__bitch._"Alright. Well. Let's go. We're going in the bed then. Let me…" She sighed. "Ugh. I'm not prepared for this. You are supposed to call first, damn it."

She got up and went off for something. As she returned, she looked at me. "Really, call next time first."

"It's not my job to call you. It's CT's job." I said simply. She ignored me with a dirty go-to-hell look, as she prepped the patient with O2, and a heart monitor. "Alright," She said finally, "let's go." I checked the bed, and put it into drive. It was a motorized bed. Thank God too. I was looking to run the bitch over… hehe.

As I drive the bed to the elevators, she hit the button and then looked over at me. I blinked, showing my aggravation. The elevator announced it's arrival, and opened. I pulled the bed on, with the bitch not helping one little bit. The ride was short and sour. I drove the bed down to CT and stopped. "I'm going to see if they're ready for her or not." I said, and snatched the chart and ran into the control room. "Deadwood. You ready for her?" I asked Kira, the CT tech.

"Yeah, head first please."

I nodded. "Thanks Matt!" She called. I waved to her and pulled the Patient in to the room, head first and helped Kira pulled her onto the scanner table. I finally got to take a seat, with Ouida. "The nurse. Oh. My. God." I muttered, as the nurse stood by the tech, a few feet in front of us.

Ouida looked at me and smirked. "One of them?" She asked under her breath, knowingly. "You have, no idea." I mouthed back.

**Ajmina**

The alarm went off beside her, not that it needed to. Just really a call to tell her 'time to get ready'. She didn't really sleep any more, not that she'd ever slept much in the past, there was just a lot less of it now. She mutely damned both her insomnia and the sleeping pills she refused to take, as it left her body jittery in the mornings, but her mind blank. Thus she opted for little to no sleep, over the insanity of being incapable of thought.

Lazily, did her daily routine, brush teeth, dress, make up, bag, skip break fast- walk out front door at the God awful time of 7.30 AM, though during the depths of winter it was more depressing. She was more asleep than she had been in bed on her way to college, thirty minutes on the bus, the forty minutes on the tube, the two minutes walk where she lit up her first cigarette of the day ten minutes or so before her first lesson of the day, her first of two that particular day.

She smiled and nodded at the sleepy students who drifted in with her, a few stayed out to smoke with her, the head mistress took her to one side for a couple of minutes to ask her how she was doing since the death. She replied non-comittedly, she wasn't sure how to answer that. She missed her mother, daily… hourly… minutely! But that didn't mean she was going to be miserable for the rest of her life, she was going to do what her mother did and what her mother wanted- to go out, have fun, travel, learn… live! So how was she doing? All right.

A friend she had amongst the staff made faces at her from just within the small school, behind the head mistresses back, she had to force herself not to grin at him as the co-head spoke to her. She commented that she had five minutes before class, and she'd better go. The woman patted her back in a patronizing consoling manner, which irked her some as she walked into the school snarled at her friend, saying he could get away with because he wasn't paying for the privilege to be at the school. He just laughed at her, called her name and received a clout round the head.

Her first lesson was Philosophy, she had to go over the same things she had done last year, so they were back on Nietzsche. Studying his problem with other philosophers, how he believed that their philosophies came from their prejudices. She remembered it all, but it was still fascinating.

The lesson lasted an hour and a half, but it felt shorter. It involved the lesson, conversations and teasing, all of which she had missed over the coarse of her very long summer.

Outside she lit up again, this time with a good friend, Mark. The two joked, teased, and generally disrupted the peace outside. Having a free period, she opted to join Mark for his English lesson, she missed doing the classes. She kept quiet for most of it, but the teacher who knew her well kept asking for her insight, which generally resulted in a long convoluted argument that only the teacher could really follow. Which also resulted in laughter from her good friends.

The next lesson turned out to be Sociology. Which again resulted in much discussion of the situation of their society as a whole. She was grinning by the end of it as it wound up in a discussion about one of her favourite comics. Her teacher, Steve was one of her favourite teachers for a reason.

By that time it was 2.00, end of school for her. She hung around outside for her third cig of the day, her friend amongst the staff Michael had stepped out for lunch. She found herself being teased to no ends as the students were around them, she bantered a long, calling him all sorts of names in return. As they returned to class, she moved to depart, he joined her on the short walk to the station. The conversation became more intellectual, analyzing their local museums.

"Hey… AJ?" he asked.

"Yeah, what?" she replied, going through her phone.

"You doing all right?"

"Why?"

"This morning."

"You mean with Beth?"

"Yeah… she's not good at this is she?"

"You're going in the same direction as her at the moment, Mike."

"All right fine. I'll stop. Hey you coming to the comedy club?"

"Why would I?"

"I'm up."

"Not coming."

"Why not?"

"I've got a date."

"You don't even know when it is."

"It's in the evening right?"

"Right…"

"I'll have a date. Believe me," she winked at him, laughing.

He growled at her. "Come on, bring the date, you'll have fun. And you know I'm funny."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll right I'll be there."

He beamed, putting an arm around her, which she ducked under, causing him to stumble. Her turn to laugh as she bid him a cheerful good bye, he just waved her off looking irritated.

AJ skipped her home stop, made her way straight to the cemetery instead. She found her way to her mother's spot very quickly. The flowers planted were bordering on becoming a mini jungle. It was beautiful. There were spiders, bees, hover flies, ladybirds and so forth everywhere. She smiled, her mother would have loved it.

She stayed for twenty minutes, sitting, thinking… talking to her mother. Then proceeded to walk home, calling her friend/friend with benefits on the way. He was back at uni, and she had missed his call from earlier. He instantly started ranting at her about an ex he couldn't get rid of, which only made her laugh pointing out he had never been able to get rid of her. He clearly had started pouting and replied that he didn't want to.

By the time she reached home, she was tired. It was only about four in the afternoon, but she was tired. She should probably get some form of sleep considering it was likely she wouldn't sleep that night. Instead she got on the internet, researching an internship or a job in a newspaper office… in some form or another. She still couldn't find anything. It was bugging her at this point.

She shut the lap top and threw herself back against the pillows. Growling at the back of her throat, suddenly desperate for another smoke, not that her family could know.

As she turned over, pulling her covers over her, her phone went. She looked at the ID, blinked in surprise.

"Yeah hey- what's up?" she answered it.

**Kirsty**

The sun had just begun to creep through her blinds; she knew it was early as the weather man had told her yesterday the sun would be rising about 5 o'clock in the morning. She rolled over in her bed again, guessing it had been about an hour since her alarm had gone off. Not that she had set it the night before, but had not really figured out how to deactivate the alarm on her phone.

Sitting up in bed, she was soon attacked by the family pets, Tigger her sister's cat and the fat lump of a cat called Lilly, her mother's. Pestering her to feed them, rolling out of bed she went through the long process of getting ready not bothering to kick the cats out of the room, knowing they wouldn't move anyway plus she couldn't with Lilly even if she wanted to, the cat needed to seriously go on a diet.

The cats followed her to the kitchen, meowing all the way or in her opinion moaning, as they never shut up. Putting food in both their bowls, her mother shouts from the front room.

"Don't feed them; I did it this morning at 3." Her mother calls.

"Could have told me that earlier!" yelling back while giving the cats a glare "You are a pain in the arse, both of you!" tempted to shake her fist at them as they dig in to their second breakfast.

She turned around nearly bumping in to her mother.

"Geez! Mum! You scared the hell out of me."

Her mother laughed "Anyway the car is packed, I don't want you to leave to go to Lincoln and leave me with your dad"

She had heard this line about a million times over the summer, as she was moving in to a flat with a few mates from university for the next two years.

"Hate to point this out mum but you married the guy and for all I know share half of his DNA." She joked.

The mother snorted. "You have no worries about that your all Harrington and have the temper to go with it!"

They both laughed.

Her parents had just driven off, she looked around her new room it was the biggest in the flat she had always been lucky like that. Plus her mate Nicole had wanted the attic room with the odd walls with little space but then again the girl wasn't normal.

First thing was to check the room for any unwanted guests, mainly spiders. She hated them always had, it was the first thing she did when she came back from holiday and had found lots round the house making her mum get them all before anything.

She sat down on the double bed and smirked to herself, she had no right calling anyone abnormal when she was borderline paranoid about spiders.

**Lara**

The sun was beginning to rise and Lara gave her friend a clumsy wave as she stumbled on out of the taxi. She gave a laugh and accidently slammed the taxi door closed and winced hoping the driver did not get angry. Not that she bothered to look, instead she started up her laughing again and headed on inside. Her record was still in place, being a late night stop out, or was it dirty night stop out? She didn't know and had not done anything dirty as far as she could remember. That gained another laugh and she stepped on some letter that was in the porch. Damn that postman. Actually damn herself for not clearing the letters away onto a table or something.

Still laughing she carried on into the kitchen. In there she turned on the tap and filled up a cup with water that should hold off the hangover.

That never held off the hangover. Come midday she was growling at her housemates and they stayed out of her way. That was a sensible thing for them to do. Even though her head hurt she smiled; no pain no gain as they said. Stupid cliché really. She flicked on the telly to watch some Pirates of the Caribbean. Handsome, sweaty men swinging swords around always made the hangover go away. Yep that certainly did work. Once that was over the hangover was too.

This was certainly the life. Too bad about those assignments. They could wait a couple more hours for it was time to go meet some friends and try not to have a drink again. Weekends sure bring out the demon in you. Hopefully they would go cruise HMV instead of lounging about in the pub. That would probably be worse though because DVDs cost twenty odd quid these days.

Never mind where they were going as long as it was somewhere. Grinning she straightened out her hair, threw on her messy hair bowler hat and ran on out the door. Hopefully not forgetting her keys.

**Caroline**

Silence.

She looked into his eyes; those beautiful green eyes. Those beautiful green eyes that were swarm with emotion... fear... desperation. They were so alive, so intense, searching hers, pleading for release. With a slow deliberation, she leaned towards her prey, his body tensing as her lips glided towards that sweat covered ear. Softly and slowly her wet moist lips moved forming word, her warm breath caressing his neck. His shudder pleased her.

"I," she breathed slowly and purposefully, "am," her lips trailed the length of his jaw before pulling back. With gentle care she let her lips linger close to his, she continued, "gonna," she pulling back, his eyes fluttered open. A smile tugged at her lips, "kill," he froze as her hand trailed the length of his chest, caressing the soft cotton until resting above his heart, "You."

A giggle escaped her throat. She could no longer contain the manic laughter. Murderer's anticipation tasted sweet on her tongue, it always did.

"Please," he whispered as her back was turned. Her laughter stopped but a smile remained. She could feel it coming. Oh how it warmed her body, the anticipation beginning with her thumping heart, spreading slowly, deliberately, painfully through her limbs, her fingers, she repressed a shudder. "Please... I - I gave you what you wanted."

"Yes. You did." She smiled again. "And now," she laughed, turning back around to face this pathetic victim, "I am still going... to kill you."

There it was. Oh how it warmed her heart.

The look in their eyes when they die. Not die literally, but mentally. When they know they have no hope, no future. Their eyes loose that hopeful glisten. It's a truly beautiful moment when someone resigns their hope of life. When acceptance washes over them, when they detach themselves from reality.

Yes, those screams, they were satisfying, musical, soothing. But the sound of agony was nothing to the experience of the death of a soul.

_Beep! Beep!_

A slight frown appeared on her features as she reached into her pocket for the source of this disturbance. Flipping her phone open she looked apologetically at her victim. It was quite rude of her to take such calls during a business transaction. "Sorry," She whispered quietly. "I have to take this. I won't be too long," Giving one last apologetic smile she put the phone to her ear. "Caroline speaking."

A pause.

"Do I have it?" She laughed as if the mere thought of not was such a horrendously funny joke. "Please! Of course I have it..." She glanced over at the man whom was tied to the chair. "Sorry, can you just hang on a second?" She turned to the man, and pulled a gun from her back. The man's eyes went wide. Before he could give one final scream, she pulled the trigger. The shot echoed through the old warehouse. She put the phone back to her ear. She put the gun back behind her in it's holster, and picked up a small diamond shaped item off the table next to her. She examined it. "Yes. I have it..."


	3. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: We Might Have A Situation**

_**2000 Hours – Orlando, Florida USA – Florida Hospital South Campus**_

I sat, watching the large, 40 some inch TV that Sonny, our director had gotten for us. Or wait, was it Eric, our previous director? I could never be sure. In any case, I sat there, watching the TV, tired as hell from school that morning. It was only Monday. It sucked. There was a rumble and some shouting. My co-workers. It sounded like Joe and a few others. Suddenly Vanessa walked in a plopped herself down next to me on the couch.

"What's going on Matthew?"

I looked over at her. She was cute. I knew I wasn't the only one who thought that. But I shrugged off both thoughts and shook my head. "Nothing much. You?"

"Chillin'."

Let me ask you something; How can someone be "chillin"? I mean, are they cold? Really? Use a simple term, like, I'm relaxing, instead of bullshit terminology of "Chillin." It's fucking annoying. Otherwise, I'll make sure your chillin – in a meat locker.

I just nodded to her response. "Is it slow?" She asked. I shrugged. "Guess so. I haven't had a call for about 5 minutes now."

"Yeah, it's slow."

_Thanks__for__the__news__flash._I sat up and stretched my body while yawning heavily as Java and Victor walked in. "What up gentlemen?" They both nodded to me.

Suddenly the program on the TV went away and the news came on. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we interrupt your regularly scheduled programming, to bring you this breaking story." I found myself fixated on the TV.

"It appears that there is a high speed gun fight between law enforcement and several heavily armored vehicles. We're unsure how it started, or where it started."

The scene was of I4 Westbound, and there were about 2 dozen police cars chasing a semi-trailer truck and several smaller armored cars. All of them were weaving in and out of traffic as the innocent attempted to clear out of the way, only to be crushed and rammed out of the way.

"Wait. Wait. We can see…" Suddenly there was a flash and one of the cop cars exploded, flipping front end over front end, catching several other police cars in it's radius. There was a sudden roar of excitement in the room, pulling me out of the awe I had for the Scene. I saw the entire shift was in the room, including the manager.

"Who are these guys?" Luiggi asked. "Uh-oh…" Austin murmured. I looked back at the screen. The suspects and cops were getting off on exit 85. And making a left after the exit…

"Um… guys…" Brittany murmured. "They're not…" I murmured to myself. Suddenly the TV went black. No one in the room spoke. It was completely quiet. We all looked around at each other. Moments later, there were several muffled bangs from above us. "Is that…" Luiggi started, "Gun fire?" Vanessa finished. I nodded slowly. "Assault rifles from the sounds of it."

"Alright, guys. Stay here. Don't move. We might have a serious situation here." Austin said. He turned for the door. "Where are you going?" Eugene asked. "To find out if we do have a situation…" He turned and left the room.

Unbeknownst to any of us transporters, it would be the last time we would ever see him.

_15 minutes later_

"It's been 15 minutes. How long is he going to be?" Ouida asked. I sat in the corner, unmoving physically. But as for my mind… it was at light speed. "He's probably with Security right now."

"Or he's dead." Susie suggested. "Oh, my god. You really think that those were gunshots?" Luiggi giggled. I looked at him. "You could go check it out, I mean, if it wasn't, you get to laugh at us all…"

He blinked and slouched down in his chair. "Maybe, we should check it out." Victor suggested, his heavy Russian accent jumbling his speech.

I stood up, and ran my hands through my hair. "Alright. Victor, Java. With me. If you don't hear back from us in about 10 minutes, you might want to get out of the building." Victor and Java started for the door and I heard a low rumble. "Matt. Just exactly what makes you the boss in this situation?" Joe asked. I looked over at the big black man. He was tall yes. He was also 'large'. "Well, Joe. Because I'm sure, that none of you really wanna die, if there are gunmen in the building.

"Big 'if'." Luiggi said. I rolled my eyes and started for the door, when I felt a hand grab my shoulder. "I'm coming with you." Ouida said.

I shook my head. "I don't…" I was cut off by a loud shout and a man screaming. Everyone was up in that short moment, to see what the hell was happening. Apparently, as Java and Victor had went for the door, a man was attempting to enter.

I heard something slide across the floor. "Gun!" Christian screamed. I leapt forward and grabbed up the pistol from the floor as Java was thrown into the wall. I saw Victor kick his leg out, only to have it grabbed and have his entire body shoved into the wall. Two men ran in, one with a rifle. I raised the pistol and pulled the trigger. The pistol recoiled heavily in my hand. The product of never shooting a real one in my entire life.

But somehow, the bullets found their mark and both men were laying on the ground in their own blood. Ironically, a bit of clear smoke was rising from the tip of the barrel. I heard Ouida breathing heavily directly behind me. Victor leapt up and shut the door. "Does that have a lock on it?" someone said, as everyone scrambled for the door, in an attempt to jam it shut.

I stood, staring down at the bodies of the two men that had just tried to kill us. The gun was trembling in my hand. "Hey, buddy. Matt. You okay?" I looked up, and saw Tim Hutchings.

I nodded my head. "Here… let me have this." He said, extending his hand out for the gun. I pulled my hand back, and shook my head. "No. No. It's cool."

"Well, Austin was right about one thing. We have a situation." Douglas said.

"Well, that's just great…" Luiggi muttered.

"Armed men in the hospital… what's the color code for that?" Jason asked.

"Ain't red. Or Black." Brittany said.

"It's Metallic." They all looked over at me. I raised the pistol and pulled the barrel back, before letting it slide forward, cocking it. "I'm taking back the hospital."

"Look at this bad motherfucker!" We all looked over at Joe, who had picked up the assault rifle. "What the fuck do they call this bad boy?"

It was about 33 inches long, and looked like one of those assault rifles from Halo. It had a scope on the top of it, with a large magazine. (Just look up the XM8 rifle on Wikipedia.) I rolled my eyes and started for the door. "Matt!" Java stood behind me. Victor stood beside him. I turned to them. "What?"

"You are not doing that alone."

"Really? Well, there are armed in the hospital." I nodded my head to the rifle that Joe held. "Heavily armed. I can't allow you to get hurt, or worse, killed because I'm going out there myself."

Ouida walked up to Joe, and ripped the rifle from his hands.. "You won't be allowing it. You don't have a say in it." She said. I looked around and cocked an eyebrow. "Fine…" She smiled and stepped out into the hall, rifle raised and ready for anything.

"How many are there?"

"How would I know? There was an entire simi-truck with them, and a few cars as well. Could be a dozen or more."

"So did you hear who was in town doing a show?"

I shook my head and looked at Ouida. "No. Who?" We reached the corner of the hall. I looked up at the half moon mirror and saw the hall in both directions clear. Ouida looked at me. "Carrie Underwood."

I felt my eyes enlarge. "Really? Wait… how did the conversation go from armed men, to Carrie Underwood?"

"Just thought you could use a change of subject for a moment. You just killed two men. You looked a little pale afterword."

I cleared my throat. "So, she's in town?"

"Yeah. Unfortunately, she had to be taken to the hospital due to slight heat stroke."

"Lemme guess. ORMC?"

Ouida just looked at me and smirked. "What?" I hissed through gritted teeth. "She's _here_?" Ouida nodded. "In the ED, actually."

I stopped and looked down both ways of the hall. "Main lobby can wait." I said. I nodded to the left and started for the Emergency Department.

I moved down the corridor, with Ouida covering my back. "Where was she exactly?" I asked. "The waiting room."

I turned and gave her a confused a look. "I thought she was being treated."

"No. I said she was in the ED. Never said she'd been admitted, or being treated or seen. She has to wait like me and you in such a situation ya' know."

I nodded slowly. "Alright. Waiting room. Main ER Lobby then."

"Where is everyone?" I heard her mumble. I looked over at her. "Great question…" She shrugged as we continued down the hall. "I'll swipe, you aim and shoot if need be." She said, as we moved to the triage doors at the end of the hall.

"Sure." I said, raising the pistol up to chest level. "Leave the killing to me."

"Your not bad at it."

"That's what should worry you."

She swiped her badge in the card reader and the doors clicked as they were unlocked. Then seconds later the doors opened outward, and I felt my finger move to the trigger of the pistol, but refrained from squeezing it. It was quiet inside. I nodded to Ouida, and moved forward, with her merging up next to me, rifle ready.

As we moved, I couldn't help but notice something red splattered here and there on the walls. We kept moving - she covered the right and I covered the left halls. "Clear." She announced. I nodded and looked around at the blood splattered on the walls and the pools on the floor. "Where are all the bodies?" I asked. Ouida shrugged. "I don't know, but these guys are some sick fucks."

We moved for the door that led right into the ER lobby. I grabbed the door handle and she took position with the rifle. I turned the handle and pulled the door open. There was a split second when I looked at her and waited for a gun shot or two.

But none came. Instead, I saw behind her, a shadow from behind the dictation cubical where the doctors would generally work. I let the door go, and it shut with a click as it latched. I raised the pistol as a man came out from behind and drew a shotgun. Everything was happening in slow motion – Movie style! Woot! Yeah. Excitement!

Ouida saw me as I raised the pistol toward her and she dropped as I fired twice, hitting the man in the left shoulder and the upper chest. He fell backwards, breaking through the cubical wall. I stood there, waiting for any movement. I was completely frozen. I heard nothing except a humming sound.

Suddenly I felt someone shake my shoulder. I looked over at Ouida. "You okay?"

I blinked slowly. "Uh… yeah. Yeah."

"Good, because we've got trouble." She nodded to the right and I looked down the hall, where there was at least three more men, armed to the teeth.

"Fuck." I muttered. I ejected the clip from the pistol and looked. 10 bullets left. I looked up at Ouida. "Take cover." I said, ducking over and snatching up the shot gun from the man I'd just killed. Though it wasn't murder, it sure felt like it.


	4. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Armageddon**

_**0100 Hours – United Kingdom, London, England**_

The rain seemed like it was never ending. There wasn't a whole lot of thunder and lightning, which was great. But there was way too much rain. It hardly ever stopped once it got going too. Ajmina stood, staring out the window of the house. She sighed, and looked at the picture on the table next to her. It was a picture of happiness and serenity. Where was such a scene anymore in this world?

It was a question that no one could ever answer. She sat down on her bed, and grabbed her laptop and opened it. Laying back against the pile of pillows she had, she started to surf the web. Fun stuff. She rolled her eyes, and laid back, staring up at the ceiling. It was blank. As was her mind. She closed the laptop and put it back on the table.

She got up quickly and put her shoes on. She quietly hit the front door, flash light in hand, and left the house. She walked down the road. About 15 minutes later, she arrived at the cemetery. She walked through the wet field of tombstones and graves, until she stopped at one particular stone marker. She glanced at the jungle of a grave spot. It was beautiful.

She hit her knees, and sighed. "Hey, Ama." She said softly. She ran her hand through her wet hair. She dropped a flower on the ground, next to the stone. She looked up at the sky. "It never stops, does it?"

She sat, listening to the wind. The soft drops of rain on the ground, the plants and flowers. She smiled sadly. "I..." She looked down at the ground. She wasn't sure what to say. She sat, cross legged. A million thoughts ran through her mind. She suddenly had a headache. And an inch for a smoke. She pursed her lips, and looked at the stone. "Ama. Why do I have a bad feelin'? Like somethin' big is 'bout to happen?"

The wind suddenly gushed, causing the trees to sway back and forth heavily. The flower she'd set down picked up and blew into the other flowers. Ajmina felt a shiver run down her back. "Yeah. Me too." Was all she said.

Kirsty opened the box, and pulled out the picture. She held it up to the wall, and studied it's look on the new flat. She wasn't sure if it was a good spot to put it. She set it aside, and switched gears. She put her computer on the desk. The tower. The monitor. The keyboard. The mouse. She switched it on and it came to life with in moments. "Fantastic." She murmured. She suddenly felt her phone vibrate. She snatched it out of her pocket and answered it.

"Mum. Hi!" She said.

"Hello, dear. How's the flat working out?"

"Fine, I guess. I got class in a bit, so I'm just working out trying to put the place together. How are you guys doing without me?"

"Terrible. I still have to do everything around here."

They both laughed. Suddenly there was a clambering down the stairs from the attic. Kirsty looked over and saw Nicole running for the door, pack in hand. "Kirsty. Hurry up. Party starts in 15 minutes."

Kirsty blinked and looked at the clock on her computer. Sure enough. "Mum. I have to go. I lost track of time. Call you later." She hung up her phone, and snatched her pack up and raced after Nicole out the door.

Ajmina sat, quietly listening to the wind and rain, thinking next to her mother's grave. She sighed and glanced at her cell time. It was almost 1:30 in the morning. She stood and looked down at the stone one last time for the night. "Mum. I'll be back later." She turned, when suddenly she heard an alarm began to blare. It was from the local city. Something was happening. She glanced around, for some reason fearing she had been the cause of the alarms going off. There was a strange whistling sound. It was coming from overhead.

Kirsty and Nicole stepped up to the door, and Nicole knocked. There was a moment, before a girl came to the door, and squealed. "OMG. Who are you?"

Kirsty cocked an eyebrow and looked at Nicole. "It's me. Nicole. This is ma' friend Kirsty."

The girl at the door suddenly began to laugh. She was stark drunk. "Niiiicole!" She squealed. "I don't know you, but okay. Kissy! Come in. Both of you."

Nicole moved pass the girl and into the house. Kirsty started after her. "It's, Kirsty. Not Kissy."

"Right, like…"

Suddenly an alarm went off. Kirsty turned and moved to the edge of the porch. "What is that?"

"A loud whistle. I wish they'd stop. It hurts my ears."

Ajmina looked up and gasped at what she saw. Several large missiles flew over her head. What in the name? She took off running, when suddenly there was a rumble. In the distance, she saw a large explosion in the sky. With her heart pounding madly in her chest, she raced out of the cemetery, and down the street. She was moving faster then ever before in her life.

Then another rumble shook the ground. Closer this time. She could hear people screaming in panic. Fear. She raced down the street, heading for home.

The first explosion hit way to close for comfort. Kirsty turned, as all the people in the house raced out, almost knocking her down. She looked frantically for Nicole, but couldn't see her. "Shit." She muttered, adrenaline rushing through her body.

More alarms were going off now. Much louder then before. She turned and raced off the porch, and stopped at the first unlocked car she could find. She closed the door, and locked it. She looked around, and started fumbling around the dashboard. She hit one of the visors and the keys miraculously fell into her lap.

Fighting the excitement and fear racing through her veins, she jammed the key into the ignition, and turned it. It turned once and failed. "Come on." She turned the key again, and it turned. And turned. And finally, victory as the engine roared to life.

She fumbled for her phone, and dialed a number. It rang twice, and then there was an answer. "'Ello?"

"Lara! Oh, thank God, mate. What the hell is going on?"

"I dunno! I heard several explosions before you called just now. The TV is out. The mainland line is down. And I've got static on my end of the cells."

"Alright. Meet me outside the library. Be careful."

"Al- ight. – be – ful – oo."

She lost the signal. "Damn it!" She tossed the phone in the seat next to her and put the car into gear. She had become an okay driver thus far. Suddenly a man was pounding on the window. "Let me in!" Kirsty looked at him, confused and terrified. Suddenly there was several pops. The man had a surprised look on his face, as blood slowly dripped from his lips. He slumped down against the window, and disappeared from view.

Kirsty slammed the gas, not waiting to join him in his terrible fate. He'd done been shot. And by whom or what, she didn't know. She wasn't going to stick around to find out either.

Ajmina raced through a shortcut alley, which was dimly lit. Gunfire had begun now, and there were still small explosions. Grenades maybe? She couldn't be sure. She just ran. She reached the end of the alley, when suddenly several people ran by, screaming for their lives. Suddenly gunfire opened upon them, and they fell, dead.

Ajmina gasped, and covered her mouth, regretting the action the moment it took place. She backed up slowly, into a dark part of the alley, waiting to see if the men with guns had heard her. They had heard something, because they now cautiously moved into the alley. They had automatic rifles and wore military uniforms.

She gritted her teeth, as they neared her position. Suddenly they stopped, as their radios went off. A strange language she couldn't identify spoke to them, and they responded, before glancing around one last time and then took off out of the alley. Ajmina let out a breath of air she'd been holding since she'd gasped.

She inched out, and peered around the corner. They were gone. Ajmina glanced around, and then took off running, as fast as she could, down the road. Minutes later, she came around the corner, and saw the house in sight. But something had stopped her from running forward. A feeling. Deep inside. Something was wrong. Suddenly the door flew open and several armed soldier-looking men walked out, her father being dragged out between two of them.

It was so typical of her father, she thought, as she watched him struggle under their grasp, to no avail. Then her sisters came next. She couldn't do anything about it. That was the hardest part. Her fingers curled up into her palm, making a fist. Whom ever these people were; they would not get away with it.

She'd make sure of it.

Kirsty pulled the car up way too fast, and almost lost the control of the vehicle, but managed to hit the brakes hard enough to keep it from going past the steps to the front door of the library. The doors swung open and Lara raced out. She got in the front passenger seat, slammed the door, and put her seatbelt on.

"You might want to go. I heard shouting from the back inside."

"Fabulous." Kirsty muttered, putting the car into gear and hitting the gas as several people ran out, rifles in hands, and fired at them, hitting nothing. "What the hell are we going to do?"

"Get the hell out."

"To where?"

"I'm still working on that part."

Ajmina raced down the road, out of breath. It was quiet, except for the screaming, gun shots, and explosions behind her, in the city. Her mind was blank. She'd done walked for almost 15 minutes, trying to devise a plan to rescue her family. It was impossible she'd decided. She'd only get captured or killed trying it on her own.

She hated the feeling of helplessness. She kicked a rock that was in her path hard. It flew across the road, and she followed it with her eyes, and saw a pair of headlights coming her way down the road. "Shit." She muttered, running down into the ditch, just to be sure it wasn't a pair of those men with guns.

The car drove up, and stopped. Both doors opened, and she heard two female voice. "'Ello?" Ajmina heard. She stood up and crawled back up to the road. She saw two young girls, about her age. And they looked familiar.

"Well, 'ello." Ajmina said. "How's it going, Kirsty. Lara." She said, smiling softly. Kirsty and Lara exchanged looks.

Kirsty sat around the park bench, with Lara and Ajmina. "I don't know who they are."

"No one does."

"What do they want?"

"No one knows."

"Maybe it's some kind of government operation."

"Why would the government come in and kill everyone? The entire fuckin' city is under attack by these fuckers. They have my family. My Father. My Sisters." Ajmina looked down at the ground, and played with her fingernails.

Kirsty looked over at Lara, who frowned. "AJ. I'm really sorry."

"Don't be. We're going to get them back. If it's the last thing I do, I will get them out alive."

Kirsty nodded. She wasn't so enthused about the idea of raiding a hostage camp, but she would go along with it, because AJ was a friend, and she'd do the same for her family.


	5. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Fancy Meeting You Here**

_**Orlando, Florida USA**_

Ouida moved through the door and into the ER lobby in a crouch, waiting for any sudden movement. I crawled in next to her and nodded. "What do we have going on here?" I murmured, talking to myself. "No movement." She said softly. "Where the hell is everyone?"

"Don't know." She murmured. "Let's go…" I stood up, shot gun looped over my right shoulder and the pistol aimed high. Suddenly I felt like Jack Bauer, fighting terrorists and corruption. Mwhaha. We moved down the wide hall toward the front desk of the ER Lobby. As we neared the desk, I heard a shriek. I turned and saw a man holding a pistol and a young woman.

I could feel time slow down suddenly. I aimed for the man's head as he screamed, "Get the fuck down, you motherfuckers, Or I'm going to fuck this bitch's-"

I pulled the trigger, and the shell ejected from the chamber, the bullet itself shot through the barrel of the pistol, and suddenly time returned to normal and the bullet slammed into the man's forehead. He fell backwards and hit the floor and the young woman scrambled over to us, sobbing. I nodded to Ouida. "Check him."

I blinked, and shook that sick feeling. Where'd that come from? _Check__him?__Jesus__…_

I turned to the woman, and suddenly she yanked me into a tight hug, still crying. "Oh, God, thank you so much! He was going to kill me." She took a gasping breath and put her face into my shoulder. I put my hand around her and rubbed her back softly. "Hey, hey. It's okay. It's okay. Your okay."

She pulled back and I almost dropped on the ground from shock. Carrie Underwood smiled softly, yet sadly at me. She glanced at my name badge on my upper left chest. "Matthew…" She wiped some tears from her eyes, and took a deep breath, as I lost mine. "Thank you."

I smiled softly and rubbed her shoulder. "I had help." I looked over at Ouida, who just nodded with a small smile. Suddenly there was a loud burst of static, and then a voice followed. "Doc, where are ya?"

Ouida picked up a radio off the man. She looked at me. I just shrugged. She clicked her tongue and hit the button. "I think Doc is dead. Who are you?"

"I should ask YOU that; Who is this?"

"Someone who's done taking shit from assholes like you."

"You better hope your not alone. Because I'm going to find you, and then I'm going to kill you myself."

"Bring it on." Ouida put the radio on her belt. I turned to Carrie. "Listen. I'm getting you out of here, now." I turned and started for the front doors of the lobby. As I approached them, I found they didn't move.

I pushed on them, as they were supposed to be automatic doors. The kind that make you feel like a Jedi. But nothing happened. "Matt, the doors are all locked up tight. Happens in an emergency situation like this." Ouida murmured.

I stopped and put my forehead against the doors, and let out a deep breath. "Alright. Plan 'B'. Back to the office. We can at least barricade that place up as a safe haven."

Ouida nodded. "Alright." She said, picking up the dead man's pistol.

We crept through the door, and ducked behind the wall and desk. Ouida peeked out over the desk, only to duck back quickly. "Three. Two assault rifles, one shotgun."

"Good." I murmured, "We need the weapons." I replied. Carrie looked at me. I shrugged. "Gotta fight 'em with something."

"Well, I understand that. I was wondering what _they_ were waiting for." Carrie said. I blinked. "Get down!" I said, shoving both women forward into prone position as gunfire erupted against the wall and desk. I felt bullets break through the desk and breeze over our heads.

As soon as it stopped – they have to reload sometime – I got up on all fours. "Motherfuckers…" I hissed, pulling the pistol from my belt. I got up on my feet and fired off several round and jumped up onto the desk, and spotted the three terrorists reloading behind a code-cart. I fired off two more shots, hitting one in the neck. Blood started spurting all over the floor and the other two scrambled to get to their feet.

I dropped down and scrambled after them, as we all slipped and slid around on the blood on the floor. I slid over to the corner, only to have one of the men come back around it and kick me backwards. I flew down and hit the floor. The pain went through my back like a shockwave. I shook my head to re-orientate myself, and aimed the pistol between my knees as the man came at me again. I fired off three rounds, stopping him in his tracks. He looked down at the blood spots on his chest, before collapsing backwards onto the floor.

Suddenly Ouida was next to me, with Carrie, and they pulled me to my feet. "We've got to go." Ouida said. She wasn't joking either, by the tone of her voice. We quickly snatched up the assault rifle from the first man, and the pistol from the second.

(Quick Inventory; Ouida – Two pistols, Assault Rifle; Myself – Shotgun, Rifle, Pistol)

"The third one got away…" I murmured, as we scrambled for the door we originally entered through. "I know." Ouida replied. I yanked my badge off and swiped the card reader. There was a click as the doors unlocked, and then opened. We rushed into the hall, and then we took off running back down the corridor that made up the entire length of the Emergency Department.

I could hear several clicking sounds from behind us. They were coming through. "Faster." I murmured to the two young women. I heard men shouting behind us. I turned and fired off several shots, just to keep them back as we made it up the sloping hill. We started to move past the door that led into the Lake Side Café, when another man jump out. Ouida smashed the butt of the assault rifle into his face and then waved us forward.

We raced into the next adjoining corridor, as bullets start to be fired at us from behind. "Kill them!" Someone screamed. As we raced for the hall that led into the transportation department office, I heard something clank on the floor. I turned and saw the small round ball on the floor. "Fuck! Grenade!"

We scrambled around the corner and hit the ground. There was a loud blast, followed by dirt and wall and ceiling and flooring flying all around. I sucked in a breath and immediately regretted it. I let out a cough to expel the shit from my lungs, before getting up, and pulling Carrie and Ouida up with me. "Come. Go. Go." I said softly, limping both dazed girls to the door of the office. I kicked the door hard, but it didn't budge. I hit the door handle with my foot and turned it and shoved the door open, before we moved inside. I set the girls down on the closest sofa, and looked around. "Java? Victor?" I stood up and drew the pistol and moved down to our break room. "Joe? Vanessa? Anyone?" I moved in, aimed the gun around for any surprises. It was empty.

"Oh, fuck." I muttered. I raced back down to the girls. "Their gone aren't they?" Ouida asked. I nodded and shoved a nearby desk in front of the door. I heard some static clicking. Ouida took out the radio. "Oh, young lady, are you there?"

Ouida answered. "I'm here."

"Good. I have a surprise for you."

Suddenly I heard several voices all at once.

"Ouida! Matt! Come get us!" I heard Luiggi scream, like a scared little girl.

"No! Don't you dare give these fuckers what they want!" I heard Eugene scream.

"Guys! It's a trap!" Vanessa yelled.

I gritted my teeth. "Now, young lady. If you want your friends alive, you'll surrender."

"I – we're – not surrendering. And you won't kill them, because you need a bargaining tool with the cops."

There was a sinister laugh. "You might want to check the second floor. SWAT didn't have a chance. Police are not my worry." Ouida looked over at Carrie and I, and chewed her bottom lip. "What is then?"

"A runt like you ruining my plans."

"Which are?"

"A general never shows his plans to the enemy."

"So your a general?"

"I'm the guy in charge. And I'm the guy that's going to make sure you don't leave here alive."

"Right. And we're the guys, that's going to make sure you put the morgue carts to good use. We're coming for you. But before we do, why not give me your name?"

He laughed again. "The last name you'll know, is Faulkner."

The signal went dead on the radio. Ouida clipped the radio to her belt and dropped to the floor in exhaustion. I looked over at Ouida, who looked at me. "What's our plan?"

I cleared my throat. "Well. First of all. You two need some rest. "And while you two are doing that… I'll figure something out."

"You, don't know what to do next, do you?"

"We're outgunned, Ouida. I'm not about to give up though. If you want to back out and get out while you still can… I won't blame you."

She sighed and moved over next to me. "Matt. We were shot at, had a grenade thrown at us, your covered in someone else's blood, and you just rescued Carrie Underwood."

I put my head down as she half smiled. "I'm not going anywhere. I don't think she is either. I told you before. Your not doing this alone."

She pulled me into a hug and then nodded, and turned to the break room. "Now, I'm going to try and keep her company. Get a little rest. If anything happens, just yell. And I suggest you do an inventory of our ammo and weapons."


	6. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Counter Attack**

_**United Kingdom, London, England**_

"This is the plan. There are two guards here. No line of sight with any of the other militia. We'll take these two out, and then two of us will go in undercover, and evac AJ's dad and sisters."

Kirsty pointed at the map, indicating where the guards were stationed. "The last one will be look out." Lara blinked. Ajmina looked at the map, and nodded. "Let's do it."

"Wait. We can't just run in there and…"

"We've got a plan. Let's do something with it now." Ajmina said, standing up. Kirsty looked over at Lara, and she nodded in agreement. "Alright, then. Let's go."

The three moved through the dark alley-way, which led them right behind the two guards. Ajmina glared at the men, as the three moved forward, ducking behind a dumpster. "Alright. Lara. Distract them. Me and Kirsty will take them out."

"Simple enough." Lara said, snatching up a rock. Kirsty and Ajmina took off down a second connecting alley-way, and stood in the shadows. Lara counted down.

"Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five…" She took a breath in and tossed the rock before she got to four. It pinged off a smaller trashcan a little closer to the two men, who turned on their heels, and aimed their weapons down the alley-way.

"Check it out."

"Copy." The two moved down quickly. Way too fast for our heroines' taste. Ajmina put her foot out suddenly causing the first soldier to trip, face first. "Cover." Ajmina yelled, as she jumped and tackled the second before he could react.

He struggled a bit, but Ajmina slammed his head into the ground with all her strength, and knocking him unconscious. Kirsty was holding the other down, her hand covering his mouth as he attempted to get free. Ajmina searched the unconscious soldier and found a pistol with a silencer on it. _Strange._ She pulled it and pointed it at the first solder.

And she closed her eyes and squeezed the trigger, put the man down like a dog.

"Jesus." Lara said, breathing heavily. "Hush." Ajmina said softly, as she ripped the gear off the soldier. "New plan. We're going in like renegades. That or you two can wait for me. No sense in getting yourselves killed for my family."

Kirsty chewed her lip and shook her head. "No. I'm going."

Lara shrugged. "Give me a weapon." Ajmina smiled devilishly and tossed Lara the pistol. She caught it and aimed it in the air, testing it's feel. "Let's go then."

Ajmina nodded. "Alright. I'll go first…"

Lara blinked. "Why not go in together, as a team?"

Ajmina sighed. "Because, I don't really want you guys getting hurt."

"Shut up and let's do this the right way." Kirsty said, holding up a pistol she'd pulled off the second soldier that Ajmina had put down. "Alright. But if we get overwhelmed, I'll cover you two for retreat. Got it?"

"Relax. We're not leaving until we have your sisters and Dad."

The three moved to the edge of the alley-way, and peered out. Only 20 feet away, were the gates that led into the camp where everyone that had survived the first wave of attacks were being held. AJ held up the SMG that she'd picked off the first soldier and waved for Lara and Kirsty to move forward, and flank the gates.

The two moved into position and Kirsty glanced around the corner, through the gates, and saw a small groups of people scattered around inside. She held up a hand, and then spread all her fingers. Five men. AJ and Lara nodded, and then AJ rushed forward, and kicked the gates, sending them flying open.

All three girls ran in, and took aim at the first armed man they saw. AJ fired off a shot, missed, and fired off two more, finally taking down the man with a shot to his lower abdomen. Lara raised her pistol as two men turned in her direction, aiming their weapons. She fired off a shot, grazing one in the leg, before he fired off a shot at her, missing. She ducked and fired off several random shots in return.

Kirsty ducked behind a barrel, and fired off a round at one man, who raised his SMG and fired back. As he stopped firing, she popped up and took off several shots at him, hitting him in his upper chest, sending him hurtling back first to the ground.

AJ had rushed forward to the first group of hostages, only to have a man jump out from behind a crate. He tackled her to the ground, and she returned the favor by smashing the butt of the SMG into his face. He yelped and fell off the top of her. She got to her feet and fired off a shot into his chest.

"Don't get up!" She screamed.

"Mima! Is that you?"

"Baba!"

Several more shots rang out, and She looked over at Lara, who had dropped the last gunmen. AJ rushed over as Lara and Kirsty ran about, freeing the hostages from their ties. AJ dropped down next to her father, and cut him free, and they embraced with hugs. "I'm so glad your all right." She said, a breath of hope escaped with the words.

"I'm fine, dear. I'm fine. But we must go. Get your sisters and friends."

"Alright."

"Api!"

AJ turned and embraced her sisters, Shandana and Czarievna whom were running toward her. "You alright?"

"Fine. We need to go."

AJ turned and saw her father helping the other groups of people. "Baba!"

"We must get them all to safety."

"Baba, there is no time! We have to go before they come."

"We can't run any faster then these people can, Mima. We'll face the same fate as they will with or without them."


	7. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Underestimated**

_**Orlando, Florida USA**_

I sat there, at the table. There was a shotgun, two assault rifles, and three pistols laying there, along with 5 shotgun shells, 3 clips, and two magazines. I stared at the weapons and the minimum ammo that we had for them. This was impossible. We'd never take back the hospital at this rate.

I picked up one of the pistols and held it in my hands. I didn't find it too heavy. The pull of the trigger was easy enough. Maybe too easy. I picked up a clip and slowly slid it into the butt of the gun. As I got it in most of the way, I slapped the palm of my hand against it, locking it in place. I reached up and pulled the barrel back, and then let it slap back in place.

Suddenly Carrie pulled up a chair next to me. "You know how to use that pretty well." She said, looking at the pistol, then at me. I shrugged. "True. But that's only because…" I realized I didn't have a reason for knowing how to operate a gun so well.

She looked at me, waiting for me to finish my sentence. I shrugged again. "You should be resting." I told her. She chuckled. "I could say the same of you."

"Someone has to keep an eye out for _them_. We can't have them killing us in our sleep, now can we?"

She smiled softly. "No, that would not be good." She sat back in the chair, glancing around the office. I picked up the shotgun and began loading the shells into it. CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. I pumped the shot gun, cocking it. "Where'd Ouida go?" I asked her.

"Resting her eyes."

"Oh."

"Matt, is it?"

I looked over at her and nodded, setting the shotgun down. "Well, Matt. I never got to thank you for rescuing me back there." I nodded slowly. "You did, actually. And I told you that I had help."

"Right. I forgot. Sorry."

Suddenly she stood, and put her arms around me. Her hair smelled of berries, and her skin was lightly damp from her sweat. Before I could react, she put one leg over my lap and sat down, and moved her face close to mine, and our lips slowly met, hesitant at first.

Suddenly I saw a tear roll down her right cheek. I put my arms around her as she put her hands against my chest and rested her head on my shoulder. I began to run my hand through her hair softly, as I cooed, "Shhh. It'll be okay."

Several minutes later, I could feel her breath in, and breath out, slowly, as she fell asleep. I picked her up in my arms, waking her up. She put her arms around my neck as I stood up and moved over to the sofa. I laid her down on it, and she grabbed my hand. "Thank you." She said. I just smiled. "Stop saying that." I said. I leaned down and kissed her forehead, before pulling up a chair. I held her hand while she fell asleep again.

Awesomeness. I know, right?

_20 minutes later_

I sat, staring blankly down the hall, occasionally looking over at the front door. It was quiet. Too quiet. I looked over at Carrie, who was sleeping soundly. And then I sensed it. Movement. And some soft beeping. Just outside the door. "Uh-oh." I was on my feet in a flash. I pulled Carrie up, and suddenly she was awake.

"What's going on?" She said, panicked. "Ouida!" I screamed, as I pulled Carrie down the hall toward the smaller lounge. Suddenly there was a massive explosion. Dust, wall, plaster, insulation, dirt, and cement flew in all directions, and I shoved Carrie to the ground, as the explosion threw me into the wall. As dust filled the hall, I shook my head madly, trying to wake myself up. I was partially deaf at that moment, due to the blast.

Ouida was next to me, helping Carrie to her feet. "What the fuck was that?" She screamed to me. I shook my head. "They're assaulting our position." I reached down and snatched up the shotgun and raised it, covering the two girls. A man carrying an assault rifle came through the now large hole in the wall. I pumped the shotgun and fired. The blast sent the man flying backwards about two feet.

"Let's go!" I screamed, tossing Ouida the one pistol I had me. We rushed for the large opening, and Carrie snatched up the dead man's rifle. I didn't argue. I led them out into the hall, which was, strangely, clear.

"They only sent one?" Ouida asked, surprised. I shrugged. "Doesn't matter. It's time to finish this."

We ran down the hall, and hit the elevators. It didn't take but a moment for one to reach us. It opened with a ding and another man came out. Carrie screamed, and suddenly the rifle went off, at least 6 rounds expelled from the weapon. Ouida and I stared at the man, as he fell forward, off the elevator, dead. I looked over at Carrie. "Good shot." We got on board. I hit the first floor.

"Get on the sides, out of the line of fire." I told them. They did as I said, as the doors opened up. I walked out, with the two girls behind me. We were quickly surrounded. I stood, back to back with Carrie and Ouida. "Alright. Now things are getting interesting…"

A man came walking down from the main lobby, laughing. He looked like the bad guy from Iron man 2. Yeah. The Russian guy. I don't remember his name. I have hard time with Russian names. Excuse me!

"Well, well. If it isn't Faulkner."

"And if it isn't my worse nightmare. You ain't so scary after all."

"Yeah, well, why don't you tell your men to back off, and I'll prove how scary I can be."

He started to laugh. "Now, now. Calm down."

"Our friends. Where are they?"

"Dead. As I warned you they would be."

"Right. I forgot about that. You've got a lame bluff by the way."

"You think… I'm bluffing." He laughed again, and waved behind him. Two other men walked up, dragging between them, Luiggi. A large hole in his forehead.

I closed my eyes, wanting to erase the image right then and there. "Bad things are going to happen now."

"Really? What about Vanessa? Eugene? Tim?"

"Tim's okay to remove."

"Gee, thanks Matt." Tim said, as they shoved all three of them up to the line. I cocked an eyebrow. "Let 'em go."

"Really? You think it's that easy?"

"Of course not. You can take me."

"What are you worth?"

"Not much."

"Then why would I do that? You can have your boys. The three females are mine."

"Matt…" Eugene muttered. "Shut up Eugene. I've got this."

Several Men walked up and put guns to Tim and Eugene's heads, while they pulled Vanessa to the side, with Ouida and Carrie. I glared. "Matt! Don't let them do this!" Eugene said. I ignored him for the time being.

"What is this about? Why were you running from the cops? What's with the semi? All the heavy weapons, and so many men? Where is everyone? Before you guys showed up, this place was heavily populated. What are you really doing?"

Faulkner looked at me. "I'm going to unleash a deadly virus. I need test subjects!"

I rolled my eyes. What a fishy story line, eh? I mean, virus. Test subjects. Armed men. Gee, now all we're missing is zombies!

"I already injected the virus into the four dead cops upstairs. You go check it out. Tell me if it worked, and I'll think about letting your buddies live."

"What kind of virus is it though?"

"It should… well. I'll let you figure it out." Faulkner laughed.

"I'm going to need a gun." I muttered.

He laughed even harder. "You better get going. You've got 10 minutes. Then little Tim dies."

Tim just glared at Faulkner. I turned to the elevators. "Matt!" I heard Carrie scream. I looked over at her. She had tears rolling down her face. "Be careful."

Ouida whistled. "I expect to see you down here, in 10 minutes." She said.

I hit the elevator button and stepped onto it as it opened up. "I'll be back for you." I said, just as the elevator doors shut. I could hear Eugene cursing at the men as I hit the second floor button. It shook slightly as it started rising.


	8. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: Plan of Escape**

_**United Kingdom, London, England**_

The large group of escapees raced down the street, trying to avoid the shouts from the soldiers that were invading their city. It was horrible. Flat out horrible. Ajmina, her father, John (She calls him Baba; just a note), her sisters, Shandana (Nicknamed by AJ, Saanadah), and Czarievna (Called Mishi by family and Misha by friends), Kirsty, and Lara kept pushing the group forward, ducking here, hiding there, as patrols ran by, looking for them.

As she crouched down, waiting for a patrol to go by, she heard a burst of static from a radio she'd snatched from a soldier she'd killed. She gasped, as she snatched it, and turned the volume of the radio down to zero. She heard shouting from behind them. _Oh,__shit._

The foreign language was slurred from the men behind them, and she couldn't make out even one word. All she knew, was that the voices were growing closer. She glanced across to the dumpster that her father and several others were ducked behind.

None of them had any guidance. She hefted the SMG in both of her hands, and then sucked in a breath. Suddenly she heard a radio burst, with the same language. One of them men replied, and then they turned back. AJ closed her eyes, and let out the breath. She had been ready to take them all out. She lowered the SMG, letting it hang from her shoulder with the strap.

She turned the volume of the radio back up, to find out if she could figure out what was going on. And to her surprise, she heard a language she could understand. English.

"This is Kuhne. Have we found him?"

Another voice replied to the female voice, who went by Kuhne. "Affirmative. What are your orders?"

"Hold him. I'll be there within two hours. How's the quarantine going?"

"Fine. Most of the city is under control, but we've still got a few hostel zones we're dealing with. I recommend an escort via chopper."

"Fine. Meet me at the local park in two hours. And have him ready for me."

"Copy. Over."

AJ put the radio on her belt and swallowed. She looked over at her Dad. "Our ride, is at the park, in two hours.

Caroline Kuhne looked down at the city that the soldiers had taken over. It would make the perfect location for the drop zone. She smiled, and curled her hands into fists, as the pilot began to make the helicopter descend toward the park which was only a few minutes away. She spotted Captain Fields down on the ground, waiting for her. A simple white military tent was set up not but a yard away from the landing zone, and there was a platoon of men guarding it.

She smiled. He was in there. The helicopter touched down, and she hopped out, feeling the ground beneath her feet was good. Captain Fields stepped forward, bowed slightly, and then nodded his greeting. She just looked at him, blankly.

"Take me to him."

"This way."

The two moved away from the chopper and toward the tent.

Our group of heroes moved up next to the corner of a nearby building, just across from the park, where the chopper was perfectly visible. It was a black commercial assault chopper, with 50 Cal mount. Kirsty looked out and spotted two soldiers from the right of the chopper in plain view. She held up two fingers and waved right. Lara held up five and waved forward.

AJ shuddered. Seven soldiers. She glanced around, at the group she was leading. There was at least 25 of them put together. But they were mostly unarmed. Only AJ, Kirsty, Lara, and Her Dad were armed with guns.

All seven soldiers were armed with Automatic weapons, and advanced training, to be sure. The odds were against them. AJ wondered how they were going to get out of this one…

"Alright. Let's go."

The large group moved from behind the building, and out toward the park, taking cover behind randomly parked cars, benches, and trash cans. Moments later, Lara reached up from behind the bench she was ducked behind, and tapped on a soldier's shoulder. He turned and she rammed her small fist into his face, knocking him backwards. He regained his footing, and then clicked his radio twice. There was suddenly a lot of shouting from around the chopper.

"They know we're here! GO!" AJ's Dad screamed. Everyone jumped up and took off toward the chopper, as AJ, Kirsty, Lara, and John took aim at soldiers, who rushed for the chopper, to protect it. The soldiers open fired, taking down several of the large heroic group, before any of our main heroes could kill them. Only mere seconds later, almost 80 percent of the group was killed, as the rest of them took cover, and regrouped.

Caroline entered the tent, and smiled. In front of her, An older man, of about 40 or 50, maybe a little younger, stood in front of him. Kuhne smiled, almost laughing her victory that sat, tied up on front of her. "Jack Bauer. It's so good to finally meet you in person."

He looked up at her, and glared, his face still clean, not torture in place. Yet. "Well, I wish I could return the feeling, but I can't say I feel the same, unless of course, you were to untie me."

"Ah, Jack. Now, now. You know I can't do that." She walked over to him, and stepped softly around him, before leaning in from behind, and whispering in his ear, "I know what you are capable of. It'd be suicide to release you now."

"Well, at least one of you got it right."

"Shut up, Jack. Do you know why I have you here?"

"To keep me from screwing up your plans?"

"Partially right. You see, we all know you work for CTU. They hunt down know terrorists, as well as discover and shut down new ones. I, would probably be considered a new one."

"I _worked_ for CTU. In case you didn't know, I'm now a known fugitive of the United States of America."

"Funny, how your own people turn on you, isn't it? I've brought you here, to give you a second chance."

Jack blinked, and shook his head. "I don't work for terrorists."

"Now, wait a minute." She said, softly, almost seductively. "Why not let me finish?"

She moved around in front of him, smiling cockily. "I need you to… make a delivery for me. In exchange, I'll make sure your record in the US, is wiped clean. Jack Bauer won't be a fugitive anymore. You'll be a free man."

"What's the catch?"

"You deliver the package, no questions asked, and you butt out, and you'll be spared from what's about to happen to the entire world. What do you say?" She asked, slowly leaning in toward. Suddenly there was shouting outside, which was shortly followed by gunfire. She turned, and Jack leaned forward, hitting the ground with his feet. He reared up hard, and rammed the chair into the ground hard, busting the pathetic wooden chair.

He stood up, to catch sight of Caroline aiming a gun at him. "I'm going to take that as a no." She fired off a shot, as he dove to the side. She turned and ran out the tent.

The bullets merely pinged off the trashcan, and AJ was getting madder by the minute. And only 30 seconds had gone by thus far, which pissed her off even more. She stood and fired off two rounds at a soldier, who merely ducked behind a cement barrier. She saw white tent about a yard away from the chopper. The only reason she noted this, was because she saw a young woman run out from it, pistol in hand.

Kuhne.

Suddenly her father screamed to her. "Mima, duck!"

AJ hit the floor, as bullets were emptied into the trash can. John stood, and fired off several shots, hitting the soldier. He caught sight of a man running from the white tent. He was armed. Several troopers raced toward, him, and the man shot them all down. John waved his hands. "Go. For the chopper, go, go, go!" He screamed.

AJ grabbed Shandana and Mishi's hands and they took off, with Kirsty and Lara, as John took another path to the man, who turned. "Don't move!" The man yelled, aiming the rifle at him. John stopped and held up his hands, the pistol in the air. "Alright, hey, hey. We're on your side, buddy…"

He took a step toward the man. "I SAID, DO NOT MOVE!" He screamed at John. John didn't move. "We are residence of this city. They attacked us."

The man looked around, sweating profusely. Then he lowered his rifle. "What was your plan?"

"Get out of the city via her chopper." John pointed over to the chopper, where Ajmina and the others were waiting. "Alright. Let's get going then." The two moved together to the chopper, the newcomer seeming to be in a rush. He was ready to leave. As were they all.


	9. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: What The Fuck Was That?**

_**Orlando, Florida USA**_

The ride, which was in reality, only about 15 seconds long, seemed to take hours. I stared at the doors, unarmed and pissed off. Really? 10 minutes? Little Tim dies? Little? I was flat out surprised Tim hadn't killed Faulkner right there and then. But then again, Tim didn't seem like a killer.

The doors opened and I walked out into pure darkness. The fucker had turned off the power to the second floor. "God damn mother fucker…" I muttered. The doors closed behind me, leaving me in complete and utter darkness – I mean that literally.

I took a step forward, and found the spot clear. I took another. Clear. And another. Clear. Another – Crash. I ran into the wall. I jumped back, and let out a "Fuck…" under my breath, before reaching out and feeling along the wall. I followed it out into what I figured was the main hall that led to the B elevators and the Ginsburg tower.

As I shuffled down the hall toward the B elevators, I heard a crash come from behind me. I turned, unable to see anything. "Someone there?" I asked, feeling a shiver go down my back. No answer came back to me. _Great._I thought to myself. This was probably what he wanted me to do. Go investigate a bump in the night.

As I reached what seemed to be the t intersection of where dialysis was, I saw a light coming from the small sitting area across from the dialysis department. I inched forward, now able to see at least outlines of the walls with the little light. I peered around the corner, and saw an MP5 laying on the floor, it's tactical light on full. I breathed a sigh of relief. At least that was all it was.

Then a thought occurred to me. Where the hell did the SMG come from? It's not like security carried these things around.

"_You might want to check the second floor. SWAT didn't have a chance. Police are not my worry."_

I gritted my teeth as a scuffling sound occurred behind me. I reached down, and put my hand around the SMG. I heard a growling sound behind me now. I turned suddenly, bringing the SMG around, and open aimed the weapon at a SWAT member. Only thing was, he wasn't human anymore. He was… something less. With the flesh falling off his face, arms, and many other places. The creature snarled at me as I open fired, and blew a hole in his chest.

Great, right? Wrong. The creature just roared and raced toward me. I turned and ran back down to the T-intersection, and took off toward the Ginsburg tower. I could feel the creature – no. The zombie hot on my heels. As I got mid way down the hall, I felt it snatch my shirt. We barreled around and I saw the plastic covering that was over an opening in the wall. I aimed the SMG at it, and blasted a hole in it. I managed to hit my feet for a few seconds, and leapt forward, with the zombie still clinging to my heels – literally. I broke through the plastic window and fell forward and braced for the hard impact with a scream. And then I hit the floor. I couldn't feel anything for a moment and everything was bright white. I blinked several times, and rolled onto my back, and felt pain run straight up to my head from several places.

I heard a snarl. I sat up, forcing the pain away as a mere though to the back of my mind as I saw the undead man stand up and walk in my direction. I heard a shout to the right, just down from the A elevators. I saw Faulkner run into view, with Vanessa in his grasp, gun at his side.

"Oh shit!" He hissed, upon seeing the undead SWAT member. Suddenly he raised his pistol and shot the man in the head, dropping him. I glanced over at the SMG, and he pointed his gun at me. "Don't try it! Get up!"

I looked at him. He turned and waved to his men, who came running. "I said, get up!"

Two of his men came over, and grabbed me by my arms, pulling me to my feet. "Move." One said. I ripped my arms away from them, and stuck my hands in the air. "Alright!" I hissed. I stopped a foot away from Faulkner. "What the fuck was that?"

"Proof. That the virus works."

"How does that," I pointed to the officially dead men, "work? It was a zombie. Literally. It wanted to eat me!"

"I'd calm down if I were you. Now that it's loose… there's no telling what could possibly develop."

"Like what?"

"Now, is not the time for that deep of an explanation."

I looked around, and then waved my index finger toward him. He smirked and leaned forward. I suddenly punched him – hard – in the face, knocking him backward, at the same time, causing him to release his grip on Vanessa, who turned, and jammed her elbow hard into his side, and then spun around, kicking him into my grip.. His two men drew their SMGs. I grabbed Faulkner's pistol, and him by the neck, and spun him around as they aimed at me.

"Easy boys." I said, tossing the pistol to Ouida. She snatched it out of the air and aimed it at the men, who tossed the SMGs to the ground, surrendering. Faulkner was pissed. "You stupid pussies! Don't you dare surrender to these little children."

I increased my squeeze on his throat. "I'm 22, thanks."

Ouida and Eugene retrieved the SMGs, and Ouida tossed the pistol back to me. I shoved Faulkner forward to his knees, and put the pistol to his head. "Take out your radio. Tell the rest of your men to surrender to us. Or I'm going to kill you. Slowly."

"Then do it!"

"You don't want me to get started. Yet."

"Oh, so scary."

I turned and fired several shots into both men standing off to the side. I noted the glancing looks I got from Ouida, Vanessa, and Carrie. "You think I'm still joking?" I asked Faulkner.

He gritted his teeth. "Fine! You pesky brat."

I pushed the gun into his skull. "And if you call any of us kids again. I'm going to give you to one of your experiments."

He snorted as he put the radio to his mouth. "This is Faulkner. This is an official standing order. Surrender your weapons in the main lobby of the hospital. I repeat. Surrender your weapons to the… transporters in the hospital main lobby."

I reached down and snatched the radio from his hands. "Appreciate it."

I turned to my friends. There was Ouida. Vanessa. Tim. Eugene. Carrie. I took a breath, after an hour of not really doing so. "Alright. Put him over in the Echo waiting area." Eugene walked over, and grabbed Faulkner by the collar and yanked him down the main lobby, and disappeared around the corner with him.

I motioned to Tim and Ouida. "What's up Matt?"

"Tim. I need you to take Vanessa and Carrie behind the front desk over there. Out of sight. Got it?" He nodded and turned off to go do it. I looked at Ouida. "You think they'll just… surrender?"

"A few maybe, but not all. They'll come, and see what's happened, then try and kill us all over again."

"Great. So what happened up on two?"

"I told you all. His virus… if it's his, really works. That SWAT member… a fuckin' dead man walking, trying to eat me alive."

"Zombie?"

"Unfortunately for us."

"For us?"

"We still have whatever SWAT is still up there. That's what? 8 to 10 guys?"

"If that's the case, then… shouldn't we look for survivors?"

I looked around, and then pulled her to the side. "Ouida. Look around. The ED was a body dump for no bodies. No one is around the main lobby. Everyone vanished. What survivors are we looking for?"

She sighed, and sat down in a chair nearby. "I guess… I was just hoping for a lot more of us to have survived. Where did they all go? These guys didn't kill everyone. There'd be blood. The main lobby is as clean as a whistle."

I blinked. She had a point. I turned, and moved past her, to the echo waiting area. Eugene had Faulkner on his knees. I walked over and stood, looking down at him. "Where is the rest of our friends?"

"Java? Victor? Timmy? Big Joe?" He started to giggle uncontrollably. I sighed, and looked at Eugene, who shrugged. "Where are they?"

"You are just going to kill me anyway."

"Not if you tell me where they're at."

Faulkner laughed. "If you don't kill me, then the virus will."

"Only if it can't be contained."

"Who said it could?"

I blinked. "I'm not interested in games. Did you not see me kill two of your men out there? You should know, that I, along with my friends out there, know this entire hospital by heart. We don't need you to find them."

"Matt!" I turned, and saw Ouida standing at the corner. I looked at Eugene. "Watch him."

I walked over to Ouida. "I think their coming."

"Good." I nodded to her. "Cover me."

I ran over into the empty lobby, and stood in the center of it, near the front desk. I tucked the pistol in the back of my pants, and moments later, could heard footsteps coming in quickly from both sides of the A Elevators. A moment later, I saw one man step out from the right of the elevators, and stood, facing center with me. He was a tall, average black man. His eyes were a silver tint. Strange. He was unarmed for the most part. He saw the two dead men on the floor. He looked up at me. "What did you do, boy?" He asked me calmly. "I defended myself and my friends."

He just stared at me. I stared back. "Well. I've got some bad news for ya."

"What's that?"

"I've got this place wired with C4. And I'm going to kill you all and destroy any evidence of the virus testing in this place."

"What about Faulkner?"

"He'll be returning to his former position as commander in this operation."

"Over my dead body."

"That's the idea."

I put one hand behind my back casually, as the man waved behind him. Suddenly there were twelve men, six on either side of him, with heavy weaponry. They didn't hesitate. Neither did I. I pulled the pistol, and fired off two rounds randomly, as I raced off, leaping into the air, and sliding over the top of the front desk as bullets went wild.

I heard Vanessa scream, Tim curse, and Carrie let out a sob. I heard gun fire from the other direction and saw Eugene from around the corner of the Echo waiting room. "Matt. Check eleven o'clock." He shouted, as he fired off a burst at the thugs.

I glanced over in the direction he'd suggested and saw Ouida standing around the corner, waving to me. I looked over at my three friends. "Guys. Move. Around the corner to Ouida." I hissed. Tim helped move Vanessa and Carrie as they crawled on the floor around the corner of the desk and over to Ouida. I quickly followed the three. As soon as we were clear, I stood up, gun fire still attacking the desk.

I pulled the pistol and marched around the back side of the waiting room, and saw Faulkner still sitting in the chair, laughing. I moved fast, and snatched him up from the chair, almost dragging him forward. I didn't bother to put the gut to his head. I just muttered, "You might wanna tell 'em to hold fire, unless you want them to shoot both of us."

I couldn't see it, but I could imagine his eyes going wide, as he began to panic. "Fuck. Hold fire, you stupid asses!" He screamed, the panic clear in his voice. "HOLD FIRE!" He shouted. The gun fire settled. I shoved the gun up to his neck, right beside his carotid artery and shoved him forward, making sure I was directly behind him. "This is your only warning." I hissed loudly, "drop your weapons and surrender, or I make him bleed out. One shot. That's all it'll take."

The man with silver eyes glared from the same position he had been standing in before. Then he waved his hand, and the men lowered their weapons. "We will retreat for now. I must refer to my commanding officer on the situation."

Suddenly they all turned and left our sight. Faulkner was furious. "You come back, you fucking pussies! Get me out of here! Kill these mother fuckers!"

None of them turned back. "I said come-" I slammed the butt of the pistol into the back of his head, cutting him off in mid sentence, and knocking him unconscious.


	10. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: Find Him!**

_**United Kingdom, London, England**_

The whirling sound from the chopper's propellers were extremely loud, and caused dirt, mud, and water to fly all over hell from the park's grounds. Everyone sat in the main hold of the chopper, while John and Bauer sat in the front cockpit, Bauer piloting the vehicle. "You mind telling me, who you are, exactly, and why you were in the tent with that woman, who, from what I can deduce, was trying to kill us all?"

Jack looked at the controls of the chopper, and adjusted something, before looking over at John.

"To be honest, I don't know why I was there. My name is Jack Bauer. I'm a former U.S. Government agent, who became a fugitive when I was set up. I was given a chance to escape by the President of the United States, when I helped uncover, by no easy means, a plot to take over the government. I left the country. A few days ago, someone knocked on my door. I never had a chance to get to the door, before they came through the windows, and knocked me unconscious."

"What then?"

"I woke up in the tent only a few hours ago, and just before you people started an assault on the chopper, she had suggested she wanted my help in whatever she's about to do."

"Which is?"

"I don't know. But whatever it is, it's going to effect the entire world, if I understood her correctly."

John seemed to be absorbing all of this slowly. He stared out the cockpit window. Jack glanced over at him, and could see the wheels turning in his head. He snickered in annoyance. "Trust me. I've been through this kind of thing before."

"I'm sure you have…"

Jack looked over at John, and nodded. "So where were you planning on going?"

John shrugged. "Anywhere but this country. It's being overran by these… mercenaries. I need to get my girls as far away from here as possible."

Jack nodded. "Fair enough." He steered the chopper in a sudden new direction. John looked over at him, and blinked, before glancing back at Ajmina, Shandana, and Czarievna. They were safe for now. That was all that mattered.

Caroline paced back and forth, thinking. Thinking hard. Jack Bauer was loose. And He knew who she was. But; he didn't know what she had wanted him for. And that, would drive him mad. He'd want to know. And he knew the only way to find out, was to find her. She smiled to herself. So he got away. So what? It was expected. He'd been through hell, and survived through it his entire life.

She should have known that even she wouldn't have been able to hold him for long. She chuckled as a door to her right opened. She looked her head, As the tall cloaked being walked in. "Caroline." A man's voice said. She nodded to him. "General. So lovely of you to join me for a drink."

"I'm not here to socializing. Report."

"He's loose."

"And does he have a suspicion?"

"Indeed. I planted the seed."

"What of those rebels?"

"They escaped with him."

"So we find them, and we find him, and vice versa."

"Exactly."

"Where do you think they are heading?"

"I don't think. I _know_ they are heading for the United States. Thanks to the tracking device I placed on the chopper. Bauer's idea, no doubt. But if he thinks he's going to receive help from his own government… well, let's just say, I already have a team in motion. They were in motion before we assaulted this country."

"What is the plan exactly?"

"John Hammond's cloning process works wonders. You'll see what I mean soon."

The being lowered his cloak, and revealed a striking middle aged man, about his later 30's, jet black hair, dark eyes, and a smile that was so sinister, it was almost beautiful. "And everyone wonders why I chose you for this operation."

"Ah, General Clymore. I won't fail you. You have nothing to worry about."

He took a step toward her, and pulled her into his grasp, and roughly pushed his lips against hers, and she fell apart at the seam, and pushed into the kiss, only seconds before he pulled away from her.

As he turned away, she smiled, and chewed her bottom lip. He always did that. Teased her constantly. "What are your plans, General?"

"There has been development from central. The Umbrella Corporation is with us. Harlan Wade is involved as well."

"Any word from Stark Industries?"

"I have people working on it as we speak. How's Faulkner doing?"

"Last I heard, a group of older kids had him in custody. I've ordered the team to dispatch them all."

"A necessary loss. I'll be in touch."

He moved forward, and the door slammed shut behind him, without even a touch from his hand.


	11. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: Run**

_**Orlando, Florida USA**_

We sat around Faulkner, giving him looks. Looks from Vanessa and Tim were more confused and desperate to get out. Eugene was giving him a dead, cold stare, that told him if he made one wrong move, or even blinked the wrong way, he'd put a bullet right between his eyes. Carrie sat against the wall, staring at him blankly. She was probably wondering how she got there. Ouida kept glancing over at him, assault rifle looped over her right shoulder. She was still hard to read.

I kept shooting him looks of warning. Don't even think anything, and you'll be just fine. After 15 minutes of dead silence, Faulkner broke the silence. "You guys, do know that none of us are leaving alive, right? Not even myself, now."

"Shut up, man!" Eugene hissed, obviously annoyed. I didn't blame him. I looked over at Tim. "What I'd like to know, is what happened to everyone else."

"I couldn't tell you. He secluded us from everyone else, as if we had been chosen to be hostages or something."

I looked over at Faulkner, as I thought it over. I looked back at Tim. "I'm sure they're fine. But I know they're dead."

"Gee, way to stand on the fence, Matt." Vanessa murmured. I shrugged. "It's a little something called hoping for the best, but being prepared for the worst."

Faulkner let out a chuckle. "You all are so naive. That's why we're not leaving alive. She won't let us, I'm sure. And the main operation's probably already underway."

"What operation?" Ouida asked him. He looked over at her, and sneered. "Well, I suppose that we're all going to die, anyway." He looked around at all of us. "We've already launched an assault on the United Kingdom. I'm sure they're all dead or dying or taken hostage. Right now, here in the U.S., we've already let it loose."

"What's loose? What kind of assault on the UK? Who is _She?_" I asked, walking forward, my brain going to red alert. Faulkner started to open his mouth, when suddenly there was a whistle. We all looked down on his chest, and saw a small triangle device. It started to beep. "Oh, fuck!" Was all he said, as it began to beep more rapidly.

"Get back!" I screamed, grabbing Ouida's arm as we scrambled to gain distance from Faulkner, who was tied down and had no chance. As we dove behind the wall that separated the echo waiting room from the walkway that led to the parking garages, there was a loud explosion, and I heard several dozen plopping sounds.

I looked over at Ouida, who was sitting on the ground, next to me, breathing heavily. "You okay?" I asked her quickly. She nodded. "Fine. You?"

I nodded as well, and we got to our feet, and glanced around the corner, where there was dark red spots where the chair used to be. Eugene was lying on the ground, a few feet away, unmoving. I heard a sobbing sound. I looked over at Ouida, and we moved into the waiting area, or what remained of it after the blast. We looked to the right, about five feet away, was Carrie, huddled with Tim and Vanessa. They all looked a mess.

"Shit." I muttered, and moved over to Eugene and checked his pulse. It was there. Barely. "He's alive!" I said. I grabbed his shoulders, and gave him a shake. His eyes fluttered slightly. A sign of true life at least. Then he sat up suddenly. "What?" He exclaimed. "Whoa! Whoa! Hold tight, dude. You're alright. The blast knocked you silly." I said, as we helped him to his feet.

I heard shouting down the corridor, and turned and stepped out and saw, down in the main lobby, and saw several men running out of sight. I cocked an eyebrow, and looked over at Ouida. "What is it?" She asked, as Vanessa, Carrie and Tim ran over.

"I don't know… they just did _something__…_ I'm not sure what though."

"I'll check it out." Tim said. I looked at him. "I wouldn't recommend it."

"Well, I guess we could just sit around and wait to die."

"Matt, shut up and let him." Vanessa said. I looked over at her, and frowned, before looking over at Tim. "Fine. Hurry up. We'll cover you."

He nodded, and ran down to them main lobby. He looked around, and shrugged his shoulders. He walked over to the main desk, and looked around, before swallowing hard, and turning around. "Get over here. We're leaving."

"Why?" I asked. "Because," he said, "There is a very big bomb under the desk. And it's got a timer of 20 seconds on it."

"Are you serious?" Eugene hissed. I didn't say anything. I turned to Ouida. "Run. We're getting out of here, now. You've got your keys, right?" She nodded. "Great. GO." I said sternly. She turned and ushered Vanessa and Carrie down the hall, toward the escalators. Tim ran over to me and Eugene. "15 seconds."

"Let's go." We all turned and ran after the girls, whom were already on the escalators, near the top, and still moving fast.

The three of us hit the escalators, and in a line, raced up them. As we reached the top of the escalators, I saw Eugene stumble. I grabbed him, and pulled him to his feet, where we rushed onto the walk-way bridge, that led to the two parking garages. The girls were straight ahead, nearly at the end.

As we ran, full speed down the bridge, there was that feeling, deep down. I felt it. A shockwave of sorts, but worse. I glanced down out the windows of the bridge, and saw a bright light coming from the main lobby. And it was getting brighter and bigger.

I felt a rumble under my feet, and I heard Eugene and Tim both muttering something of a prayer. As we reached the end of the bridge, I heard the doors clicked, and only a second later, open. We ran through them, and I stopped for just a moment. With a glance behind me, I saw a large fireball barreling toward us. Then the doors started to close. Tim grabbed me from behind, and yanked me back as the fire exploded upon the doors. We both hit the ground, as the fireball expired into a cloud of smoke. Eugene shouted to us.

"Let's go guys! We've got company!"

I heard tires squeal. I jumped to my feet, and pulled Tim to his, and we raced down into the parking garage, where Ouida pulled up her truck with a squeal from her tires. We didn't hesitate, as more tires were squealed from level just above us. We jumped into the back of the truck, and Ouida hit the gas. She turned the wheel, and heading straight down, for the exit to the second level of the garage.

Suddenly motorcycle appeared behind us. I pulled the pistol and fired off a shot, and hit the front tire of the cycle, sending it flat, and the rider forward, into a parked vehicle. Tim, Eugene, and I stared back, as Ouida drove the truck down and out of sight.


	12. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten: Vantage Point**

**Central Florida, United States of America**

_**Ouida**_

She drove the truck, as fast as it would possibly go. They were out of the parking structure called Alden Garage, but something still wasn't right. Nothing about this day had been right, and yet… It had seemed perfectly normal. She increased her grip on the steering wheel. It was normal, until those men came in. They'd had to fight their way out of the building, almost gotten shot multiple times, blown up twice, and taken hostage.

She blinked back tears, forcing them back to the back of her mind. It was not a time to get emotional. Because for some reason, Ouida had a bad feeling about what lay ahead in road in front of them. And if she didn't keep a clear mind, they'd all end up dead, like everyone else. She did a once around the entire parameter of the hospital, and it's counter parts. As she pulled around in front of the Hospital College, she leaned forward, staring out at emptiness.

Everyone in the hospital was dead. Gone. Killed. Somewhere else. She put the truck into park, and slumped back in her seat. She closed her eyes, and could hear the breathing from Vanessa and Carrie. Suddenly there was a tap on her window. She looked over and saw Matt standing there. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, before she got out and walked a few feet from the truck.

"Sorry. I needed a moment."

Matt shook his head. "It's fine. I'm sure they are not exactly looking for us."

Ouida blinked. "Why not?"

Matt glanced around. "Look around. Where is everyone?"

Ouida suddenly glanced around, and realized he was right. She stopped and listened to what was around her. Other then breathing from either of them, there was no birds chirping. No buzzing from bees, or even wind blowing by. No cars, trucks, or what not in the distance honking their horns at one another, or machinery working. There… nothing. No sounds what-so-ever.

Eugene dropped out of the bed of the truck, and walked over. "Hey, guys." They turned to him. "What's up, Eugene?" Matt asked. He nodded to the college. "We should check inside. Maybe we might find, survivors?"

"Survivors?" Ouida asked. Eugene shrugged. "I don't know what else to make of the situation." He muttered. Matt nodded. "Alright. Let's go." He looked at Ouida, who stared into the distance. He touched her shoulder, causing her to jerk her head around at him, surprised. "Hey. You coming?" He asked. She nodded slowly, and smiled awkwardly.

_**Matthew**_

"Hey, Tim!" I called to him. He looked up from the truck bed. "What's up, Matt?"

I nodded to the college. "We're going in for a look around. Hold down this position."

Tim nodded. "Alright."

I turned and led Ouida and Eugene into the college. As I opened the front door, a strong wave of death hit us in the face. Eugene covered his face with his shirt, and I turned away, trying not to throw up.

Ouida put a hand over her mouth as a mask. "What the fuck?" Eugene hissed. I followed Ouida into the school, with Eugene tailing us. The main lobby was empty, for the most part. And yet, there was still the smell of dead bodies. I drew the pistol, as Eugene and Ouida took out their SMGs, and I moved forward, toward the front desk, as Ouida covered the hall to the right, and Eugene covered the seating area and the small chapel to the left.

I peered over the desk, and suddenly the smell got stronger, and I saw why. The receptionist lay on the floor, slumped against the wall, a bullet hole in her chest. "Oh, Jesus." I murmured, staring down at the older woman. I started to turn, and saw Ouida move down the hall. "Guys!" She shouted. I turned and raced after her. "Ouida?"

I caught sight of her as She stopped, readied the SMG, and looked over at me as I caught up to her. She put a finger to her lips. _What__is__it?_ I mouthed to her. She shrugged. _She__doesn__'__t__know._I blinked. She turned on her toes and ran into the room, SMG at the ready. I quickly followed her, and she let out a shriek as I caught sight of a red flash of beady eyes run past us and up the stairwell.

"What the fuck?"

She started after it, and I grabbed her and pulled her back. "Whoa! What's your rush? You don't know what the hell that thing is!"

She looked up at me, and blinked, and then shook her head. "Wow. I totally didn't realize what I was doing just now."

I cocked an eyebrow, as she threw her arms around me, and gave me a hug. "Thanks, Matt." Suddenly there was a rapid burst of SMG gunshots. We both turned, surprised.

_**Eugene**_

Eugene hadn't seemed like a man of faith. He was more known for his paintballing skills and sarcastic lines toward some of his more casual friends. But something had pulled him into the small chapel that was part of the school, which wasn't as weird as it seemed, due to the school being part of a hospital that was of Seventh Day Adventist Faith.

As he entered, he saw the large symbol of Jesus Christ, the pews, the podium, the stain glass windows. It seemed to be a dead end room that was empty. He walked over, and saw down in one of the pews. He set down the SMG and picked up the bible that was in front of him. He flipped it open, and saw the words THE BOOK OF GENESIS.

He snorted his amused annoyance. Why did he even bother? He wasn't much of a religious guy. Suddenly a strange gust of wind blew some of the pages of the good book over, and Eugene saw an empty page. Empty except for the hand print in blood.

He stood up, as his brain reacted, and dropped the bible, snatching up his SMG. He glanced around, and swallowed hard. There was the sound of footsteps. He looked over to the door. "Matt? Ouida?" He asked.

No one answered. He felt his heart racing. "Alright, Matt. This isn't funny…" The footsteps stopped at the side of his pew. Eugene held his breath, and his SMG at the ready. A moment passed, and suddenly he felt breath upon his face. And he went flying backwards. As he went back, he let off a burst of shots at the emptiness in front of him, or at least, where he had been standing.

He slammed into the wall, and before he could recover, he was lifted up into the air slowly. And he started to spin around slowly as well. "Whoa… whoa…" He repeated over and over, shell shocked at what was happening. And suddenly he was slammed into the wall to his left, and then to the right, and left, right, left, right. He hung in mid-air, his entire body aching, his face bloody.

That was when he realized he was praying to God. _Please.__Help.__Me._And then he was forced to the ground, at full velocity. He was quickly picked up, and flung into the ceiling extremely hard.

He let out a scream, and then a sob, as he was forcefully flung into the walls, the ceiling, the floor, and dragged this way, and that way. Moments before he blacked out, he saw them. Matt. Ouida. The two people he never really tried to connect with at work, the two people he hardly knew, and he was supposed to be a survivor.

Instead, those two watched, helplessly, as he was threw through the stain glass windows, and disappeared from sight.

_**Tim, Vanessa, and Carrie**_

Tim sat in the bed of the truck, with Vanessa. He was surprised at he silence. Most generally, she was rambling about one thing or another. Instead, she sat next to him, silent. He looked over at her, put his arm around her. "You okay?" He asked softly.

She shrugged. "I'm fine." She lied. The truth was, she was terrified. She just watched most of her co-workers die, and she barely escaped with only a few of her friends, and one music super-star, only to find that the city seemed to be as dead as Luiggi was.

She snuggled up against Tim, and he hugged her close. "Tim?"

"Yeah, Vanessa?"

"I'm not okay. I just watched a shit load of my friends die today. I almost got killed myself, I've been taken hostage, shot at, and now I'm sitting in the back of a truck, looking out a world that, was once so alive, but is now so dead."

She let out a hiccup, as she tried to avoid crying. "I'm scared Tim!"

Tim put both arms around her, and held her close, as Carrie got out of the truck's cabin, and climbed up in the bed with them. She sat down next to Vanessa, and gave her a hug, as Vanessa's eyes flooded tears, and her mouth rolled out sobs.

Suddenly, there was a burst of gunshots. All three of them jumped to attention. "What was that?" Vanessa hissed through her remaining sobs. "Gun shots. A lot of them."

Tim jumped from the bed of the truck, when suddenly there was a crash. Followed by a loud scream. Then several shouts, which sounded like it was coming from Matt. "_Go.__Go.__RUN!_"

Suddenly the doors in front opened up wide as Ouida and Matt spilled out, running full throttle toward the truck. Tim jumped back in the bed of the truck, and Carrie couldn't help but note the doors that closed, where swung back open, so forcefully that the glass on them cracked. It was took thick to shatter completely.

Matt grabbed the driver's side door and pulled it open, before sliding into the passenger seat, as Ouida jumped into the driver's side. She jammed the key into the ignition, and started the truck.

"What the fuck is going on?" Vanessa cried. Doors on the side of the building, to the right of them, suddenly flew off their hinges, and a loud roaring sound came from with-in. Ouida shifted the truck into drive, and she slammed her foot down on the gas pedal, sending the truck forward, without any warning, leaving the school behind.

_**Kirsty**_

The helicopter flew over the large ocean. It had been about an hour since they got in the air, and everyone had seemed to calm down, their hearts were no longer racing, the adrenaline had warn off for the most part. Now a lot of them were falling asleep. Saanadah and Czarievna had both gone to sleep, Lara's lights were out, and Kirsty almost wished hers was too. But she had found out from John, AJ's Father, that they were heading to the USA, and that had kept her adrenaline up, and running on a full tank. Many people came to mind when she thought of the states.

Matthew Smith. His sister Rebecca were the first that came to mine. "Folks, hang tight. We're heading over land."

"Land?"

"Florida."

"Which part?"

"Near Jacksonville."

Kirsty couldn't put her finger on it, where that was in terms of Sanford. "Oh." Was all she said. AJ slid over next to her, and nodded to the window, with a grim look on her face. Kirsty looked out, and saw the city. It was… strangely – empty. Dead.

"Where is everyone?"

"I don't know…" AJ murmured, "but I have a bad feeling about this."

Kirsty looked over at Ajmina, and cracked a smile. "Classic Star Wars line, my dear."

"Look. Over there." She heard the man who called himself Jack Bauer say to AJ's father, John. "One moving vehicle. A truck. Let's find out what the hell is going on, shall we?"

_**Ajmina**_

AJ stared down at the truck. She wasn't sure if they'd seen the chopper yet or not, though, if it had been her, she would have heard it at least. Helicopters were loud as fuck. And if they didn't hear it, they'd have at least seen the gusts of wind from it's propellers. Or something! And if they did see them, they were moving pretty fast, perhaps to evade? AJ couldn't be sure.

"We're taking it down. Hold on." John looked back at them. "Buckle up!" AJ stood up suddenly and grabbed onto a hand hold and drew her pistol. She wasn't going to stand around and do nothing, otherwise she'd freaking fall asleep. And she didn't have time for sleep. Suddenly the chopper dropped straight down, and AJ kicked open the side door of the chopper, and she had a perfect view of the large golden sand color truck.

But who she saw in the cabin of the truck was a large surprise. "Matt?" She exclaimed, causing Kirsty to jump up and grab onto her own hand hold. "Matt?" She exclaimed as well. Neither recognized the woman who was driving, or the three in the bed of the truck. And then the truck weaved to the left of the chopper.

_**In the Truck**_

They'd all heard it. A helicopter. But the last thing any of them, especially Ouida, was expecting, was the damn thing to drop down into their path. Ouida, didn't let up off the gas, but she didn't increase her speed. She felt Matt's eyes on her, probably wondering what she was going to do. Then the side door of the chopper flew open, and a young woman stood, hanging on, a pistol in her hand. "Oh, fuck!" Ouida screamed, and jammed the steering wheel left. Matt grabbed onto the dashboard, as the chopper pulled up slightly.

"Wait! Don't panic!" Matt hissed, as Ouida straightened out the truck on the road. "Stop the truck."

"Why? They are trying to kill us!"

"I know her! She's not trying to kill us! She's trying to get us to stop!"

Ouida slammed on the brakes, and they heard a slight crash behind them. They both looked out the back window, and saw Tim, Vanessa, and Carrie pressed up against the window. Ouida looked at Matt, and he looked at her, and they both turned and looked out the windshield, as the chopper landed in front of them.

She looked over at Matt again, as he watched the people get out of the chopper. "Matt. I hope your right. Because after what I experienced at the college back there… I'm not in the mood for games."

He didn't even bother to look over at her. He just nodded.

"Neither am I."


	13. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven: Movement Based Vision**

"Where were you all heading anyhow?" Jack Bauer asked Me and Ouida, with Tim, Vanessa, and Carrie in the background. I looked at him, and shrugged. "To be honest, we weren't real sure about that. We…" I hesitated. How was I supposed to explain what we encountered in the school? It wasn't exactly, normal. An unseen force and killed Eugene, and then something else with large red eyes and a transparent body had came after us.

Then again, as I thought about it, nothing that had happened today was exactly normal. The entire city was vacant, except for whom was in front of me at that very moment, as far as I knew. "You…?" Jack asked, cocking an eyebrow. I swallowed. "We barely escaped with our lives from that hospital. Our friends are dead. We were just… driving. Trying to escape it all."

Jack nodded slowly after a moment. "Alright. Well, Get some rest. We're all going to need it. He turned to John, and nodded. "We'll take watch in shifts." John nodded. I turned to Ouida, Tim, Vanessa, and Carrie. "He's right. Get some rest."

"And then what, Matt?" Vanessa asked. I looked at her. "Then what, what?"

"What do we do when tomorrow comes? Where are we going?"

I thought for a moment, and suddenly realized, I didn't have an answer to her question. "We'll, figure it out, Vanessa. Get some rest." She turned and walked back to the truck. I sighed, and rubbed my temple with my right hand.

I felt a hand rub my back for a moment, and looked at Ouida. "You okay?"

"About as okay as any of you are."

"Look, it'll be okay."

I chuckled. "It's funny, Ouida. I should be the one telling you that." She rolled her eyes. "Don't pull the sexist card."

I nodded. "Right. Sorry."

"Perhaps _You_ should listen to Mr. Bauer as well. Get some rest." I smiled. "You got it." I said, and she turned and walked toward the truck. I let out a breath I sucked in, and ran my hands through my hair. I looked around the scene. The truck was parked in the middle of the road, as was the chopper. AJ, Kirsty, Lara, Shandana, and Czarievna were sitting on the edge of the chopper's holding area. I walked over and smiled, before sitting down next to AJ.

They all just sat there, quietly. I pursed my lips, and then smirked, at a crazy thought. "You remember that one series I wrote? The explosion?" I chuckled. I heard a snicker from Kirsty. "Yeah. That was a really wild story, mate."

I looked at my watch. It was three in the morning. I jumped up. "This is beginning to bring back memories from another life. Know what I mean?" I looked over at them and suddenly felt like a little kid who just found his little blanket that he lost a long time ago. I couldn't help it. I smiled. "I'm glad you all are here."

"We're glad we could make it."

I walked up to the truck, and knocked on the side of it. Ouida sat up, and looked over the edge at me. "Hey. What's up?"

"Well, seeing as Vanessa, Tim, and Carrie took over the cab, and everyone else is in the chopper, I was looking for a place to crash. The ground's a little cold."

Ouida looked around, and then nodded her head to climb up in the bed of the truck. "Make yourself at home." She said, laying back down on her makeshift bed of random clothing she'd taken off or found in her cab.

I smiled, and laid down my work scrub shirt down as a pillow, and laid down next to Ouida. She laid there, and stared up at the sky. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" She murmured. I looked over at her, and smiled, unbeknown to her, and said, "Yeah. It sure is."

I swallowed quietly, before clearing my throat. "Hey, Ouida…"

She turned and looked at me. "You okay?" She asked. "Well… there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about."

"Alright…"

"Well, it's just, I've known you for a little while now, and… we've become good friends, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I really…" suddenly there was a rumble. We both sat up, and looked on either side of the road. "What the hell was that?"

Suddenly there was another rumble. I looked down at the ground, at a small puddle of anti-freeze from the truck that had accumulated on the ground. The rumble repeated it's self, causing ripples in the liquid. "Oh, my god…" I breathed softly.

I looked around and realized our surroundings suddenly. Forestry on either side of the road. It could come from anywhere. "Get up. Quickly." I said. She did as I told her. As we hopped out of the bed of the truck, Jack walked over. "What's wrong?" He asked, curiously. "We have to leave. Now."

He looked at me. "Why?"

More rumbling. "Because of that."

"You've seen too many movies, kid."

"Your right. And that's what's going to keep us alive. Get the chopper in the air."

I turned to Ouida. "Get the truck going."

"What is it, Matt?"

"You'll never believe me. I don't even believe it."

"I've been chased by ghosts, shot at and almost blown up today. I'll probably believe it."

"T-Rex."

"Dinosaur?" She exclaimed. "Told you so."

"No. It's just. How do you know it's a Rex? Why not a Spino?"

"All the more reason to leave."

"Shit." She said, scrambling to the truck, and waking up the three in the cab. "Matthew, I can't just get the chopper going because you were chased by ghosts."

"This is not ghosts."

"It doesn't matter…" I turned to him, and he took a step back, as I glared at him. "Do you want to live?"

"What is going on…?" John said, walking over, as the truck started up. Suddenly there was the sound of tree branches snapping and whole trees parting to our right. We all looked over to our right, and John let out a yelp of surprise. Jack just stared up at the massive creature that was known as a T-Rex. "Change of plans. Don't fucking move."

"Why?"

"It's vision's based on movement…" I murmured softly. The large creature stomped out, and I heard the truck's engine rev up. I didn't move. I didn't even look back at the truck. "Don't move. Stop revving…" I whispered wishfully.

The Rex stomped over to the truck, and leaned down, and let out a heavy breath against the side of it, fogging up the driver's side window, and half of the windshield.

I closed my eyes. The Rex took a step back, and suddenly let out a massive, ear piercing roar. I heard Vanessa scream. I took a chance and looked back and saw Tim grabbed her from behind and cover her mouth.

But it was too late. "Fuck."

I turned to Jack. "Get them in the woods." I turned back to the Rex, who had circled the truck. It stepped along side it, and bashed the side of it's massive head into the truck, tipping it up on it's side slightly. Now Carrie, Vanessa, and Ouida were screaming. Tim was looking for a way out of the truck, but it was once again too late.

The Rex smashed into the truck, sending it flipping onto it's side, before it went upside down. I heard Jack and John getting the girls out of the chopper, before rushing them into the woods, out of sight of the Rex. "This is going to be bad…" I murmured, and ran forward toward the Rex, letting out a sharp whistle.

"HEY!"

The Rex turned and looked down at me. I stopped moving. "Oh, God."

Out in the distance, there was another roar. This was much louder, and sounding much more dominate. The Rex turned it's head, when suddenly a larger dinosaur leapt out of the forest, tackling the Rex. I noted the large spine like fin on it's back, as I scrambled backwards to avoid getting stepped on by one of the four large feet stomping around as the two massive creatures fought each other. The Rex took a step back, and then rammed the Spinosaurus back, causing it to step back onto the bed of the truck, crushing it without some much as a wince.

I heard A dozen screams from inside the Cab of the truck, and jumped up, before I was grabbed from behind. I turned and saw Czarievna trying to pulling me back into the forest. "No!" I screamed, trying to pull against her grip, to go toward the truck.

"No! No time! You'll be no good to them if your dead!" She screamed at me.

Suddenly there was a roar of pain from the Spino, and it knocked the Rex backward, and it stumbled into the chopper, sending it spinning around. Czarievna yanked me to the ground as the tail of the chopper flew into the spot we had been standing in.

Had we been still standing, we'd both have been decapitated, I realized. I jumped to my feet, and with a hand, so did Czarievna, and we both took off running into the forest. The last thought on my mind, was… _I__'__ll__be__back.__I__promise._

If it had been a movie, the camera would have panned over the scene, revealing a dead T-Rex, laying on the ground, about 10 feet from a mangled chopper and a partially crushed truck. The camera would zoom up to the driver's side door, which was facing up toward the sky. A hand reached up through the shattered window, and grasped empty air.


	14. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve: Pack Hunters**

The twigs and branches and grass snapped under our feet as we ran into the night. Neither of us said a word. Only heavy breathing from running like hell. We broke through a thick set of foliage, and fell forward, into the edge of a clearing. Czarievna was the first to get on her feet. I pushed myself up and got onto my feet as well. I couldn't help but notice that she was staring at something. I walked up next to her, wiping my forehead clean of sweat that had built up from the run.

Looking down across the clearing, We saw what appeared to be a complex. It had vehicles, a helipad, and it looked like it was abandoned. I frowned. "What the hell is it?" I asked. Czarievna just shrugged her shoulders. "Come on. Let's check it out." She said. I looked around, before grabbing her arm, and pulling her back next to me. "Wait." I said, my panting starting to slow to a normal breathing rate.

She looked up at me, confused. "What?"

I nodded to the clearing. It consisted of long dying grass. It was almost as tall as we were. I went over it in my head. We'd gotten cut off from the group. The Spino had been after us. The Rex was probably dead. _I__hope__Ouida__and__the__others__made__it__out__… _I thought to myself. "We were just attacked by a prehistoric creature…" I murmured. Czarievna cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah, buddy. That's right. We're still alive. Let's go."

"No." I said, increasing my grip on her arm. I looked at the grass, then at her. It was dark, but not to dark, thanks to the moon overhead. I stopped my panting, and swallowed. "Raptors." I said as a matter-of-fact. Czarievna shut her eyes for a brief moment. "Great…"

"Stay together, run faster then light. Understand?"

"Completely."

"Good. GO." I said, almost whispering. We both took off running into the long grass; our destination – the complex below. Neither of us said a word, which was probably a good thing. As the camera might have panned out, and over, you would have seen the spying eye of a Raptor only about 2 yards away. It let out a hiss of excitement.

I pushed through the chain-length gate, and moved into the large yard area, which seemed to be the parking area for a Jeep and an SUV, and was also the front yard for the complex. With Czarievna next to me, I walked up to the Jeep. It was empty, seeming like it had been abandoned years ago.

"What was this place?" She asked. I shrugged. "You might want to wait to ask that after we've seen what's inside the building…" I said, moving around the Jeep and up to the front doors. She followed close behind. So close that, as I stopped to grabbed the door handles, she ran into me. I glanced at her over my shoulder. "You okay?" I asked. She just nodded. "Yeah. Yeah. Let's go."

I nodded, and pushed open the doors, and we walked into a large lobby area. In front of us, was a large half moon shaped desk, cluttered with junk. There were several door ways, one to the left, to the right, and just behind the desk. On either side of the desk, was a staircase, leading up to one specific bridge that led through a set of double doors. It was all very modern. I cocked an eyebrow, suspicious. Something was wrong.

Where did this place come from? Where was everyone? "Alright… let's check it out. Stay close." I reached to the back of my pants, and winced. Not from pain. But from sudden fear. The pistol was gone. Czarievna noted my expression. "What? What is it?"

"Nothing.. I just lost the gun."

"Oh, fuck."

"Keep moving…"

We both moved up the staircase, and to the door. She grabbed the handle and turned it. It didn't move. "It's locked." She said. I nodded, and pointed at the card reader next to the door. "Sure is…"

We moved back down the staircase, and she looked at me. "Which way?"

"We have to keep moving." Jack said. Lara stumbled after the group, as they ran through the woods. They hadn't heard anything from any prehistoric creatures since they'd taken off into the thick of the wilderness. "Does anyone know exactly where we're heading?"

"We're looking for a place with a radio." Jack replied. "I need to get in touch with a contact. Someone who can help us…"

"How can this contact help us?" John asked. "I mean, it's like no one is alive. No one was ever here…"

Jack shook his head. "There's got to be someone around here…"

"That woman has done something. I just hope… it's only this location and not the whole country."

Jack turned to John. "Listen. We don't even know this is her doing. A hundred thousand people don't just vanish in a blink of an eye, leaving everything behind without making some noise."

"My point exactly."

"So, let's go find a way to get in touch with my contact, alright?"

John looked over at the girls, and then at Jack. "Lead the way."

I kicked the door open that led to the right – mind you, it's not like it is in the movies. It takes a lot more then a foot. Czarievna walked in after me, and glanced down at the busted door. "You know, I'm pretty sure it was unlocked."

I glanced over at her, and shrugged. She rolled her eyes. "Men…" She turned around the room, and noted it was like a break room for staff. There was a few tables, counters, microwaves, refrigerators, etc.

As we looked around the room, I noted a strange sound coming from a closet door. I nodded at Czarievna. She nodded back, and then stepped over and wrenched the door open – and a young man stumbled out, screaming something about not killing him. I rolled my eyes, recognizing the gentleman immediately.

"Christian. Shut up!"

Christian blinked and gasped as he saw me. "Matt? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Trying to stay clear of pack hunters."

"Oh, so they're after you too?"

I cocked an eyebrow, as Czarievna looked at me, confused. "You two know each other?"

"Co-Workers." I said. I returned my attention to Christian. "What do you mean they're after us too? And I thought you were taken hostage by those guys in the hospital."

"The huge lizards. And I was. But I escaped. My size does help in such situations, I've discovered. I managed to get out of the hospital, and about 10 minutes later, it went boom. I don't think any of the others got out."

I shook my head. "Fucking, wonderful." I murmured. "Look, Christian. Those lizards, are called Raptors. And they are very, very deadly creatures."

"Thanks, Matt. I, uh, figured that out, after they almost took my head off."

Suddenly there was a crash in the main lobby of the compound. We all looked over at the broken door. "What the hell was that?"

I listened. And heard what I feared most. The slight clicking sound of a Raptor's claw against the floor boards as it moved around, looking for it's pray. I looked around. The room was a dead end. It led no deeper into the facility.

"Alright. We're going to do it this way."

"What way?" Czarievna asked. Christian looked at her. "Hi. Christian. You are?"

"Czarievna."

"Uh, great. Can I call you something that's easier to pronounce?"

"Misha." She punched me in the arm. I winced and looked at her. "What was THAT for?" I hissed. "What's the plan, buddy?"

"Run."

I took off through the door without another word, and hoped to God those two would follow. As I entered the room, I saw the Raptor, up on the staircase. It quickly took note of my presence, and let out a yelp. I glanced back and saw Misha on my heels, and Christian was inching out after us. He saw the Raptor and let out a girl-ish scream, and raced past us.

The Raptor leapt forward, and landed only a few feet from Misha and I, as Christian raced out the door. I pushed Misha behind me, and we backed up slowly, as the Raptor purred, inching toward us, slowly rearing up.

"GO!"

Christian shoved the door open and we all fell through it as the Raptor leapt forward. I kicked the door shut, and felt the Raptor slam into it. However I managed to keep it pushed shut. Misha and Christian scrambled up and put their weight into the door, and I got to my feet, and gasped as more Raptors rushed in at us from our right. I scrambled over, after grabbing Misha's hand, and yanking Christian forward to the left, only to have another Raptor jump forward, forcing us back again. Now we were pinned against the building.

I felt the air fill my lungs, but didn't feel it leave them. The Raptors purred as they reared up for an attack. One barked from behind us, and I looked back at it. "Jesus." Misha breathed. I felt her squeeze my arm tightly, cutting off the circulation.

"Matt…" Christian murmured. I felt sweat sting my eyes. There was no escaping this time. "Duck!" I said, yanking Misha forward. I heard Christian scramble forward onto the ground, while at the same exact moment, the Raptor in front of us leapt forward, it's claws ready to meet our skin. However it only met the side of the building. I forced myself to react, and pulled Misha to her feet. "Christian. Move!"

We took off running around the side of the building. Five hundred feet later, I opened a door, and we rushed in, the sound of the Raptors barking after us. Christian was the last to enter, and the door slammed shut behind him, leaving us in a dimly lit stairwell.

"What the fuck is this?" Misha asked. "Utility tunnel?" I suggested, as we moved down the stairwell.

"Doesn't matter. We're alive."

"Point taken."

We followed the tunnel around a corner and found a door. I opened it and found an office-like room. There was a control panel, a radio, a few chairs, and a locker.

"We're gonna get out of this, guys." I said, staring at the radio.

_**Stark Industries, Los Angeles, CA, USA**_

The knocking was a strange sound at that particular hour. Tony Stark opened the door. Before him stood a man of average height, with dark hazel eyes, black hair, a square jaw, and a five-o-clock shadow.

"Mister Stark…"

"Please, call me Tony. And just who the hell are you by the way?"

"Tony. My name is David Hower. I come representing a very… important figure. May I come in?"

Tony cocked an eyebrow as he looked at this David Hower. He stepped to the side, and waved Hower through the door. They stepped into the Den.

"Does this importation figure have a name? Perhaps I've heard of them. I know a lot of important figures. In fact, I am an important figure, myself."

Hower blinked, un-amused. "I can not divulge that information, Mister Stark, due to security purposes. You understand…"

"Of course. So, what does this unknown important figure want?" Tony asked, gesturing for Hower to take a seat on a rather plush looking lounge chair. Hower kindly accepted. "Well, Mister Stark."

"Tony."

"Tony. My Employer has a proposition for you."

"Does this proposition deal with the, plans for the… "Suit"…?"

"If you mean by… suit – the Iron Man Suit, then yes. It does."

"No deal."

Hower blinked slowly. "Excuse me?"

"I told the U.S. Senate, that the suit and I are one. You take the suit, you take me. You can not have the suit. Would you like me to show you to the door?"

They both stood at this point. "No. I can find my own way." Hower shot Tony a glare, and he turned and moved for the door, but stopped as he reached it. Turning slightly, he looked at Tony. "Mister Stark. For your sake, I hope you change your mind, and decide to do business with us. We'll give you a few days to think about it."

Before Tony could react, Hower turned, and walked out the door, closing it behind him.


	15. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen: Communication Channels**

The call was received at about 5 in the morning. Now, for being located in Washington D.C., that was not a big surprise. It was a busy city. No matter what time of day or night. But it was the subject of the call. It was two young men and a young woman, British from the sound of her voice, but Alec Weston could have been wrong.

The one man, who's name was Matthew Smith, had explained in a calm format, that he had worked at the Florida Hospital in Orlando, Florida, when it was attacked by a group of terrorists. After the terrorists unleashed a strange virus, wiping out the facility's staff and visitors and patients, Matt and his friends were almost blown up or shot while escaping.

Now his friends and him were trapped in an old InGen compound, in the middle of Florida, where the population has seemed to vanish without a trace. Prehistoric Creatures were hunting them, and at least two other small groups of his friends were out in the forest off of US 17-92 in Florida, just about two miles from their current location.

None of this disturbed Alec Weston, or his partner, Carina Evans. They were part of Washington D.C.'s Classified Case Division; meaning the strangest cases in the world ever. Things you could not possible begin to believe, unless you had seen it.

Now, high above the land, Alec put his hand to his right ear, blocking out any excess noise from the helicopter that was flying them straight to the coordinates that they'd picked up from Matthew's descriptions. He was listening to random chatter, as four entire platoons of U.S. Military and Government Agents raced to the young heroes aid.

"Alec."

He turned to Carina. "CIA Special Agent Sydney Bristow is on the line for you."

"Patch her through."

Carina turned away for a moment, and then gave him the thumbs up. "Special Agent Bristow. What can I do for you?"

"Agent Weston. I know you are in the middle of something. I wanted to inform you before the Director did, that I'm joining you on the case."

"What's this about?"

"I have no clue. But I heard the order came from the President himself. Guess he wants the best agents on the case. After all, a entire state's population vanishing off the face of the earth, is pretty strange."

"Agreed. Do you have the coordinates?"

"Yes. I'll be arriving soon. ETA is about 20 minutes."

"Ours is 10. Seen you soon. Over."

"Copy. Over."

Alec lowered his hand, and looked over at Carina, and she just looked back at him, both suspecting that more was up then a simple terrorist attack, which is what most of the agency thought it was.

"What is it?" Carina asked.

"Things just got serious."

"How so?"

"The President is involved."

David Hower stood in the darkness of the alleyway, just a block from Tony Stark's facility. He held up the iPhone, and nodded to the camera, which was live with Caroline. "He refused. What are your orders?"

Caroline seemed annoyed, yet she played it cool. This operation had to be played out neatly. Cleanly. Smoothly. She looked into the camera, and Hower could feel something strange in the back of his throat. It was strange. "I want you to go and take the suit then. We'll do it the hard way then. I've got the rebels pinned down around an InGen compound. I'm going in with a tactical team to take them out, seeing ass the Dinos haven't had any luck."

"Copy."

The feed went dead, and Hower turned to a small group of soldiers behind him. "Prepare for a door breach. We're going to take it from him in an hour."

James Rhodes stood in the door way of the main work shop, where Tony would work on his suits. But at this very moment, instead of working on his suit, he was pacing the floor in front of Rhodes, going on about a strange man named Hower, who offered him a place in their organization, only if they could have blue prints to the suit. For some reason, it really bothered Tony.

"How many times, do I have to tell these people that it's mine? It's not for sale."

"A few million times, Tony."

"Shouldn't take that many times." He looked over at Rhodes. "I think we may have a very serious problem."

"Look, Tony…"

Tony shushed him by putting a finger to his lips suddenly. They both listened. It was pure silence. At this hour, well, there were always punk kids screwing around outside. But not now. James took out his cell phone. "I'm making a call."

"No time."

Tony took off toward the vault, where he kept his suits. "Wait, Tony…" Suddenly there was a massive bang out in the main hall, near the front door. James drew his side arm, as a dozen armed men ran through the doorway, knocking him down, causing his gun to slide from his hand and across the room.

A man in a suit came in behind the soldiers, and looked down at Rhodes. "What is mister Stark?"

"Who the hell are you?"

"A man who can kill you and leave no trace behind. Where is Tony Stark?"

Suddenly there was a humming sound. Everyone looked up to see a familiar red and gold iron suit, with the white glowing eyes. "Hey, there, mister Hower. I've thought your offer over, like you suggested. While intriguing, I have to decline it." Without warning, Tony fired off an energy blast from his right iron hand cannon, sending all the armed men scrambling for cover. Hower ducked behind the corner.

From behind cover of random things such as chairs, sofas, desks and what-not, the armed soldiers fired at the Iron Man, causing no damage to Tony's protective skin. After several moments of gunfire, they all stopped and stared at Tony.

From inside the suit, Tony looked around at each and every one of the men, including Hower, through the wall.

"Nice try."

Tony raised both hands and began to fire off his energy cannons, destroying not only the men, but the entire area around them. James was on his feet, and took off around the corner, only to be pinned against the wall by David.

"Bad news for you. Your dead, if he doesn't surrender."

"Bad news for you. He's not going to surrender. And neither am I."

Suddenly Rhodes brought his face back, and then slammed it forward, into Hower's face, knocking him backwards into the wall. James rushed forward, and threw a wild punch into Hower's face, followed by one in his stomach.

With Hower on the floor, James turned and ran through the hall, and to an alternate entrance into the vault. "Tony! Status!" He called, shoving an ear piece in, as a massive explosion erupted, sending one man through a wall to his right, causing him to land right on front of him.

"All targets down. Hower's missing. I suggest you..."

"Suit up! I'm already on it."

The suit up process had been mastered to only take about 30 seconds.

Then the front door was knocked down, and the two Iron Suits walked out – One Red and Gold, One Black and Gray. Both dangerous weapons if given to the wrong people.

"Do you see that?" Tony asked Rhodes. He brought up his HUD and nodded at the specs of movement going toward the state of Florida. "What do you think is going on?"

"I think there's more to this then just wanting the suit." Tony said. Rhodes nodded in agreement. "Let's check it out."

Jack pushed through the bushes, with John, AJ, Kirsty, Lara, and Shandana on his tail. "What the hell is that?" Jack asked softly, almost under his breath. "Look." Kirsty said, pointing out the sign. It read **InGen**. "What the hell is InGen?" AJ asked.

"An old company, ownership of John Hammond, philanthropist. Had a dream of making theme park that showcased Prehistoric creatures."

"Dinosaurs?"

"Correct," said Jack. He looked up at her. "Never watch the news much, do you?"

AJ shook her head. "Not really. No one really tells the truth."

"Right about that…" He muttered, standing up. "Well, let's get down there. Might be a radio, or something." Suddenly there was a mass of clicking sounds that seemed to surround them. "Oh, shit."

Suddenly Jack went flying forward, down the slope toward the InGen Compound. He rolled down, and suddenly everything went black.

I paced, back and forth. "How long will it take them?" I asked. Christian cocked an eyebrow. "Eh, Matt. You do know they're flying in from another state, right?"

I stopped, and shot him a shut-the-hell-up look, and he smirked. "I just have this bad feeling…"

"Like what? Bad guys are going to come down the hall and shoot us?"

As if on cue, there was a loud bang, and the sound of metal against cinderblock. The door had just been forced open. Misha turned and snatched the radio. "Agent Weston. Agent Evans. We've got company. And it's not you, I don't suppose."

There was a pause.

"Negative. Clear out."

"Negative. One way in. One way out."

"Stand by. ETA is 2 minutes."

"We're dead in 30 seconds."

She shoved the radio away, and turned to Me. "What do we do?"

I thought, looking around the room. My heart was pumping. "Barricade the door." I said quickly, and Christian hopped up and we shoved the heavy metal desk against the door. "That'll hold 'em." He said. I shook my head. "Check the locker."

Misha shook her head. "Already done. It's clean, buddy."

"Fuck."

"Well, I suppose, seeing as how we're going to die and all…"

"I didn't mean…"

Suddenly the door handle jiggled. Someone was trying to get in. "Help me." Christian said, grabbing the locker. With our help, he moved it behind the desk, re-enforcing the barricade.

Then I heard voices outside the room. "Blow it."

"Copy."

Misha and Christian both looked over at me, then at the door. "What am I supposed to do? I don't have any weapons!"

"Duck?"

"Where?"

Suddenly there was an explosion, and the door fell forward just inches into the bracing desk and locker. "We're clear."

"Get back!" I hissed at the two friends, as I rushed over in front of them, as the door was forced out of the way. Three masked beings in what appeared to be commando armor were now visible. And they were armed. "Don't move, rebels." The leader hissed, as the other two troops climbed into the room. They both pointed their rifles at us and I stood, glaring, keeping Misha and Chris behind me.

"What are you going to do?"

"Boss, what are we going to do?"

The leader – the boss – climbed into the room, and examined us, from head to toe. Then he turned to his buddies. "Kill them. They're not who we're looking for. We need Bauer, you idiots."

He turned for the door, and suddenly went flying backwards as a loud bang erupted outside the room. The other two men turned and there was two more bangs, and they both went down. I blinked slowly, and Christian smirked. "You know how to pick 'em, Matt." He said, slapping my back hard. I stared out at Ouida, who held one of the SMGs from the hospital.

With her, stood Tim, a pistol in hand, Vanessa, and Carrie. They all looked like shit, with mud and dirt all over their faces and clothes. "Are you ready to go?" Ouida said, propping the SMG backwards against her shoulder. I let out a breath and chuckled, moving toward her. "Sure am."

As I neared her, I threw my arms around her, and embraced her in a hug. "I'm glad you made it." I whispered to her. She smiled and nodded her head toward the exit. "Let's go."

As we raced out of the compound, I looked over at Ouida. "Didn't you run into any Raptors?"

She shook her head. "No, why?"

"Because, we came in here to avoid them."

She hit the door and as we walked out, there was a bright flash of white light, as a gust of wind. "Good. Backup is here."

"Who are these guys?"

"The government."

"How'd you do that?"

"Radio."

Suddenly three men repelling down from a helicopter landed in front of us and drew their weapons. "Rebels!"

"Bauer?"

"Negative."

"Terminate."

"NO!"

I rushed forward to get in front of my group of friends as them men aimed and prepared to fire, when suddenly there was a massive explosion overhead, as the chopper erupted into a massive fireball and began to spiral around in the air, moving toward the compound to our right.

The three men suddenly dropped as a bullet entered each of their craniums in a quick motion. We looked up to our left and saw three choppers flying in. Out of the forest around us, more militia soldiers swarmed out, and started to fire at us. "Get down!" Tim shouted, as he and Ouida fired back, covering the rest of us as we ran for cover behind a wall.

The three choppers quickly circled around and came down toward the ground. US. Soldiers stood in the open doorway of the choppers, firing off with 50 Cal machine guns and M-16 Assault rifles at the Militia soldiers, who just returned the fire.

"Madness!" I heard Vanessa scream over the gunfire. Suddenly there was a massive explosion directly behind a group of Militia soldiers, sending them flying forward into the open. I saw out of the corner of my eye, two flashes through the night's sky. "What the hell is that?" I heard Misha mutter.

Suddenly it became very clear what is was as the Red and Gold suit of armor dropped down in the middle of the gunfight and turned, firing energy blasts from the palm of it's hands. Another suit just like it, except for being black and gray, with a Gatling gun on it's right shoulder, dropped down about 5 feet away, and engaged into combat with the militia soldiers.

Suddenly War Machine fired off three rockets from his wrist launcher, sending a dozen soldiers flying.

"Rhodey!"

"Go."

Suddenly Iron Man dropped to one knee and fired off rockets from both wrists and both shoulder launchers, and soon the entire forest was exploding, the soldiers with it.

Two figured jumped out of the lead chopper and ran forward toward us. "Mister Smith?"

I nodded. The man nodded. "Agent Alec Weston." He pointed to the young woman beside him. "Agent Carina Evans."

I smiled, cocky-like. "Glad you could make it to the party."


	16. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen: A Debriefing Rescue**

_**Two hours later –Burbank Federal Building - United States of America**_

We all sat around a massive oval conference table. There were no windows around the entire room, and only one door in or out at the far end of the room. There was a clock opposite the door on the wall. All it did was Tick. Tick. Tick. I could have cut the tension with a hot knife had it been butter.

I looked around at the group I'd just been through hell with. Or at least, half the group. Six of twelve people. Ouida. Vanessa. Tim. Carrie. Christian. Misha. I ran my hands down my face, stopping briefly to rub my tired eyes, before clearing them from my face at the chin. I placed them on the table, and looked around. We hadn't been given a chance to clean up, or even get a drink of water.

After the gunfight in the forest at the InGen compound, we were thrown in the choppers, and brought directly here, to… wherever here was. The pentagon? White house? I did a mental shrug. I had no clue. But once we got here, we were ushered into this conference room, and been here for almost 20 minutes.

Suddenly the door opened, and the young man, who went by the name of Alec Weston, and the beautiful young woman, who went by the name of Carina Evans, both special agents with the government. FBI? CIA? NSA? I wasn't sure about that either. But they both had official ID and looked the part.

Weston walked around the right side of the table and they both took a seat separate from us, at the opposite end of the table. A second later, the door opened again, and a tall, middle aged woman entered, and she took a seat across from Weston, who spoke. "Alright. So, let's get started, shall we?" He said.

"First. How should we address you folks? The Militia soldiers were referring to you as Rebels."

"You can refer to us by our names. We're not rebels. We're just trying to survive in an incredibly strange situation."

"Strange… is a good word for it." Misha muttered. Alec looked over at Carina, and then nodded to the other woman. "Well, guys. This is Special Agent Sydney Bristow, of the CIA. You met her on the chopper. She specializes in cult divisions."

"Wait. So, she's CIA. What are you two?" Christian asked. Alec smirked. "I'm CIA. Carina is originally FBI."

"Great. Now what does this have to do with cults? And what of our other friends?" Ouida asked. Alec sighed. Evans shook her head. "Guys, listen. We need you to focus. We understand your all tired, need to clean up and what not. If you focus, it'll go much faster, and you can go do that much sooner."

Sydney waved her off. "It's fine." She turned to us and suddenly slid a file down the table and it landed in front of me. I looked down at it. "Open it." She said. I proceeded to do so. Inside were pictures of Florida. It was abandoned. Not a one person in sight.

"What is this?" I asked, passing the pictures to my friends.

"That is Florida. What do you see?"

"A civilization vanishing."

"The people of it have seemed to vanished. We've had teams scouting the entire state. No sign of your friends. However, your story of the Hospital incident seems to check out."

"Are you trying to say you thought we were lying?"

"No. We're the government. CIA. FBI. We check up on things. We don't just take the word of any young guy or girl who walks through the door."

"Yet, you all came running to our rescue."

Alec sat forward. "Matthew. Listen. Alarms were going off over here hours before you radioed us. Our military stations down there were not responding to calls. That always sets off alarms quickly. Your call just increased the need for a response and investigation."

"Did you find anything else there?"

"Such as?"

I thought for a moment, and looked over at Ouida, who was the only one who saw what I had saw in the college. She nodded at me. I sighed, in annoyance of having to develop a way of explaining the impossible.

"After we escaped the hospital, we stopped at the nearby College, to look for help. However, we found a dead body, bullet to the head, and… while Ouida and I were looking around, another friend who had been with us from the hospital, was… killed by something unforeseen."

"Like what?"

"A paranormal entity."

None of the agents laughed. At least they didn't do that.

"What did you see, exactly?"

"Minion."

There was a pause as the agents exchanged looks.

Carina slid another file over to us. This time it landed in front of Carrie. "I advise you… take a moment before you look at these."

"What is it?"

"We did find… something, in the remains of hospital."

Carrie looked down at the file, and looked around at us, almost requesting permission to look inside. Then she opened it, and gasped suddenly. We all just stared at her, as she shuffled through the contents.

"Have you… identified them?"

Alec nodded slowly, as Carrie passed the file over to Tim. "We've IDed the remains as follows; Austin Wooley, Brittany Walloga, Douglas Thompson, Mike Fisher, Jason Jose, Javohir Sahler, Joe Watson, Tim Hutchings, Victor Zhukov and Shinelda Pierre."

I blinked slowly, as the file was finally passed to me. The names – most were my co-workers, and a lot of them were friends; maybe not exactly close friends, but friends none-the-less. I looked over at Carrie. Her husband was gone. I could see her holding herself together with a thread. Finally I opened the file and felt my stomach do a complete rearrangement with all my other organs. I quickly closed the file.

No one spoke for a few minutes.

Then Sydney stood up. "Listen. Why don't you guys get some rest. We've got some housing set up for you all. I'll have a few agents drive you over there."

Alec and Carina stood up as well. "Agreed."

The building was of a C shaped complex with a small garden like yard right smack in the center of the property. There was one entrance into the entire property, unless you were a ninja, and could scale buildings. Thought, it was only one story all the way around, so that fact is pretty pointless.

The SUV stopped and the two agents got out and opened the doors for us. As we got out, a beautiful blond haired woman walked out with two men, one who looked like he'd scare off a Spino just by glaring at it, and another who looked like he could fix a hard drive with a bullet in it.

"HI!" The nerd herder said. I'm not just calling him that. He works for the company under BuyMore.

"My name is Charles Bartowski. You can call me Chuck. This is My girlfriend Sarah Walker, and our friend John Casey."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Nice to meet you Chuck."

Sarah smiled. "Let me show you guys to your rooms." She looked at the two escort agents. "Thank you, gentlemen. We'll handle it from here."

"Agent Weston will be in touch, Agent Walker."

Christian cocked an eyebrow now. "You're an agent too?"

"We all are."

"Damn I should have gotten into the spy biz. Look at all the hot chicks."

Chuck shot him a look. I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, about my friend…"

"No problem. Follow me."

We started into the garden area. Casey looked back at us. "So, why are they putting you into protective services with us? You see something go down?"

I swallowed. "Sure…"

"Okay so, each complex has three rooms to it. These two are your complexes. You can pick who sleeps where or how." Sarah said.

"Yeah, and if you guys need anything, we're in the complex right there." Chuck said, pointing. I nodded, rather aggravated with the sudden situation that we were in. Where was my Mom and Dad? My sister? These thoughts, while sick as it is, just hit me.

I swung open the door of one of the assigned complexes and then slammed the door. I could hear Chuck as I looked around.

"Well, alrighty then."

The room was dark, and he could hear water dripping onto the wooden floors. John looked around, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Then he saw the outline of the figure.

"Who are you?" He asked, breathing heavily. There were the clicking sounds of high heeled boots. "Who I am is not important. What you know is. Who were the other rebels with you? We know you were with another group of people."

"Don't… know what your talking about."

Suddenly the young female, no older then 20 years old, and beautiful enough to kill with a look from her eyes, stepped forward into a bit of light from a window, and leaned forward into his face. "Alright. Where's Jack Bauer?"

"Who?"

Suddenly she turned and disappeared into the shadows. Seconds later she returned, with an electric prod. "I'll ask you one last time. Who were they? Where are they? Where is Bauer?"

John glared. "Go to hell."

She activated the prod and jammed it into it's left side, causing a great amount of pain, from the sounds of his yelps.

"TELL ME! And I'll let you live long enough to say goodbye to your two daughters."

_Two? She never found Misha. _

"Well?"

"Try again."

She jammed it into it's chest area this time, and the night's sky was filled with his painful screams.

In the holding cells of the abandoned facility, Ajmina sat, curled in a ball, as she tried to keep the sounds of the screams out of her head.

I lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling fan, as it went round and round. I kept playing it over in my head. The chase on the interstate. The crash that led to the assault on the hospital. The things Faulkner said. The virus. The zombie…

Suddenly there was a knock on my door, causing me to jolt upright. "Come in." I said, falling backwards onto the bed again. The door opened, and Carrie walked in. "Hey." Was all I could say. She walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Matt."

I sat up on the edge of the bed, next to her. "I don't believe that he's gone." I looked over at her, as tears started to fall from her eyes, like rain from a cloud. I put my arm around her and pulled her up next to me, and hugged her tightly. "Hey. Listen to me. It's going to be alright. I know it might seem impossible right now, but…" I closed my eyes as she began to sob.

"I can't bring him back. But..." I bit my bottom lip. It was stupid how all my sentences were ending with But. "They're going to find the people responsible." She leaned against me, resting her head against my shoulder as she tried to calm herself. I softly rubbed her upper arm, to help sooth her tears.

"How do you know that?" She asked, taking a deep breath as her tears slowed. She wiped her eyes, and I thought about that question. "I mean, who ever did it, had the ability to clean the entire state population out. Make them vanish without a trace of where they went."

I closed my eyes, taking myself back to the hospital. Back to right before Faulkner got killed.

"_You all are so naive. That's why we're not leaving alive. She won't let us, I'm sure. And the main operation's probably already underway."_

"Who is she?"

Carrie looked up at me, and then sat up straight. "Who's who?"

I shook my head. "Back in the hospital. Faulkner said something about not leaving alive, because she wouldn't let us. That there was a main operation probably already underway." I stood up and looked at the door. "I can't believe I forgot about that information. He said that they were attacking the UK, and that they already let it loose in the US."

"Let what loose? Why attack the UK?"

"I don't know. He was killed before he could tell us, remember?"

We knocked on the door, and Chuck answered the door. "Hey! How's it going? You guys okay?"

"We have some information I might have forgotten to tell Agent Weston."

"What is it?"

I looked over at Carrie and she looked at me. "When we had the Militia leader, Faulkner in custody, he said something about an operation…"

I saw Chuck's eyes go dim. Suddenly he blinked and shook his head. "Whoa."

"You okay, Chuck?"

"Faulkner?"

"Yeah, you know him?"

"Not personally, no. But he's an international crime lord."

"Well, he's internationally all over Florida Hospital."

"He has connections."

"Any of them, Female?"

"One particular one, yes."

"Good. Because he mentioned 'she wouldn't let us leave alive.', and that the main operation was probably already underway."

Sarah appeared behind Chuck. "What's going on?"

Alec Weston sat down, across from the two agents from the FBI, with Sydney Bristow. "Agent Mulder. Agent Scully. In front of you, is a file. It's a report of the group we picked up in Florida."

"Is this the group that claims to have been attacked by paranormal forces, and held hostage by terrorists?"

Alec shifted his gaze from Mulder to Scully, and then looked over at Sydney, who nodded. "An investigation into the hospital incident has proven that their accounts are truthfulness. However, we're unsure as to the paranormal activity they reported."

Mulder half grinned. "So you decided, to call in the experts?"

Scully sighed, and rolled her eyes. "Mulder, this is not about expertise. While I can't deny we've experienced some… unexplainable things throughout all our cases together, I highly doubt that this will end with nothing but the explanation of stressed teenage minds playing tricks on them."

"Really? Scully, really?"

"Mulder, I will not-"

"You are trying to tell me, that you think this story, this report is the example of a kid's stressed life?"

"Well, it's entirely possible, Mulder. Think about it. They were just put through a hostage situation, held at gun point, almost blown up, and even had to take a few lives. Yes, I believe that the end result will be paranoia caused by such a stressful situation."

"Fine."

Alec looked between the two of them, smirking. "So you're in?"

Mulder leaned forward, and snatched the file from the table. "We'll go out to the site, look around, let you know."

_**Castle HQ, under the BuyMore – Burbank CA, USA**_

I stood next to Chuck, Casey, Ouida, Carrie, Vanessa, Christian, Tim, and Misha, as we watched Sarah pull up the information that Chuck had been talking about. "Alright." She pressed a button on the controller and a picture popped up of a young female, maybe 19 – 23 years of age. She had black hair, what looked to be blue eyes, and rather beautiful.

"Her name, is Caroline Kuhne. She has a history of terrorism, including Cyber crimes, such as attempting to attack the government databases with viruses. She also has a long history of abducting people for any information she might have use for, torture, and murder."

"She could murder me any day…" Christian muttered. I shifted my eyes toward him, and Casey gave a grunt of disapproval. I looked over at Chuck. "You get anything?"

He glanced at me, did a double take, and looked at Sarah. "Come on dude. I saw it in your eyes the first time. You got any further info on her? Location, location, location, would be awesome."

Casey cocked an eyebrow. "Listen, little man, you are under our protective services. You are not investigating this case. You are to be resting. We've already broken protocol by showing you this much."

I looked over at him. "My sister. My Parents, are missing. A lot of my friends are dead, most are just plain missing. Somehow, I survived. I looked over at Ouida. "We survived." I looked back at Casey. "If she's behind all of this, then, she knows where all those people vanished to, why the UK was attacked, why my work place was assaulted, and where the rest of my friends and my family are. So, guess what. I'm going to find her." I turned to Chuck. "If you know, you better speak up."

"Chuck…" Sarah said, waving to him to follow her. The two left the room.

Casey looked at me. "Alright. So you make a good point. Doesn't change the fact that if you leave the safe house, I'll detain you, until this case is solved."

He turned. "Well check her out ourselves." With that he left the room.


	17. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen: Investigation Of The Unbelievable**

The helicopter touched down on the helipad that was used for the hospital. Ironically, it was also next to the school that the group of young kids said was the spot where they had been attacked by some kind of paranormal entity. Mulder climbed out of the helicopter, with Scully close behind. Several other agents followed them, mainly just backup for the two.

_As__if__We__'__ll__actually__find__anything._Scully thought to herself, as she walked with Mulder toward the college. It was three stories high, with multiple smaller buildings in it's vicinity. The doors were wide open, almost as if something had forced them open. Mulder looked around. The place was like a wasteland almost.

He glanced up at the main building, and looked at the windows. They were partially tinted. And yet, he could still see that there was two red lights up on the third floor. He frowned, as they suddenly moved, and vanished from sight. "Did you see that?" He asked Scully.

"See what, Mulder?"

He just shook his head, as they headed for the first set of open doors that were on the far end of the college, almost facing the helipad. It was a long hallway, with rooms on either side, as well as a door for the stairwell.

Mulder looked at the other two agents. "Check up stairs." He said. The two agents nodded and took for the stairwell. Mulder and Scully continued down the hallway, until they reached a larger lobby. Mulder saw the front desk and moved over to it. As he peered over it, he grimaced at the sight of the dead woman.

"Well, the kid was right about her." He said. Scully just frowned. "That doesn't mean they were chased by a paranormal entity."

"Keep denying it, Scully…"

Mulder and Scully the chapel, where the group of teenagers said their friend had been attacked and killed by the entity. The place was wrecked. Bullets were in the wall, pews strung all over the room, and imprints on the walls and ceiling of a human body.

"Jesus, Mulder…"

"I know, right?"

The two stepped further into the room, and suddenly Mulder turned, and drew his sidearm on a man standing off to the side, leaning against the wall. He was of average height, a little gray-ish skinned, wearing a leather jacket, and black jeans. He smiled slyly. "If you're looking for answers… you won't find them here."

"What answers?" Mulder hissed, as Scully joined his side quickly, sidearm aimed at the mysterious man.

The man straightened himself and took two steps toward the two agents. "You're looking for answers to the young man's death. However… the answers don't rest here. You need to find her… before they release _her._

"Who's her?" Scully asked.

"Find her before they release her… because once she's out, I can't not stop her… no one can."

Suddenly there was gunshots upstairs. Both Mulder and Scully turned, before quickly turning back to the man. But all they saw were floating ashes, which vanished quickly.

"Scully, move!"

He pulled her back, as a strange transparent being with large red eyes raced toward them. Mulder open fired, aiming for the eyes, which were the only visible thing. Two shots later, the creature exploded into ashes, which also vanished.

"Let's go." The two raced for the door, and they saw two more of those creatures racing toward them. Without hesitation, the two agents open fired, creating more ashes in the air. Mulder took the lead, racing down the hall, when suddenly the stairwell door opened and one of the other two agents went flying into the wall, as another creature raced out.

It leapt up, and latched onto Mulder's back, and he felt something digging into his back. "Mulder!" He reared up into the wall, and the creature exploded into ashes. The two raced for the door, and there was a crash, glass shattering, and the other agent fell to the ground in front of them, another creature seemingly laughing at them, yet no sound retreating from it. They both fired at it, and it retreated back into the interior of the college.

"Go for the helicopter." Mulder said. They took off running. As they neared the helipad, the man in the leather jacket appeared next to the gate. "She'll be out for revenge…"

Suddenly the chopper exploded into flames and the man vanished into ashes again, leaving the two FBI agents stranded in a dead zone.

I paced back and forth in front of the door. Sarah and Casey had gone off to see if they could find a location for this Caroline woman and left us all sitting on our asses. Chuck was busy at the BuyMore, and we had strict orders not to leave the compound. It was very difficult for me. I sat down on the bed suddenly, and leaned forward, head resting against the palm of my right hand.

Suddenly the door opened, and I looked up at Carrie, as she closed the door, and stood there for a moment, almost checking out the situation before doing or saying anything. I noted that she looked clean and refreshed, unlike before the last debriefing we had. She was wearing a casual t-shirt and blue jeans, with her hair flowing freely around her. She walked over and sat down next to me. I sighed, and she rubbed her hands together briefly, before resting them in her lap.

"You okay?" She said finally. I shrugged. "I will be once they get a location for Caroline."

"You know they won't let you go after her. They'll keep you here and do it themselves."

I looked over at her, locking gazes with her. It was odd for me to do that. I mean, sitting here next to me, was my idol. The one person that inspired me to go for the gold. And yet, she didn't know me at all.

I shook my head. "Carrie… I don't give up when I put my mind to something. Caroline has the rest of my friends, my family has vanished, and I'm going to get them back. With or without their help."

She nodded after a moment. "I know. But take it slow. Think with your head, and not with your personal involvement."

I chuckled. "Who are you, my Medical Assistant Teacher?"

She smiled and we sat there in silence for a few minutes. "Matthew?"

I cocked an eyebrow. "You can call me Matt, you know." I sat forward, and smiled. "What's up?"

"I… appreciate you. All you've done. You and your friends. You've risked your life to save me back at the hospital."

I shrugged. "Listen, it was nothing." I leaned back against the wall. "I just wish people would trust me more often."

It was true. A lot of my co-workers never took my word for anything I said. That or I was found to be so lame for not wanting to go out to clubs and party, that they just ignored anything I said. Most times, I'd found, before all this happened, was that the only time they addressed me, was to paint me as the target for some sick joke.

I really never understood it; never tried to. I just went on doing my own thing. Until now. My home was empty. My family was gone. Most of my friends or acquaintances were dead or being held by Kuhne, and I had no one to count on except for the people that had gone through this shit with me. Why?

It's simple; they are going through the same thing. They all lived in the state of Florida. Their family. Their friends. Gone as well. Carrie's husband, discovered dead while trying to check up on her at the hospital. And it wasn't just those of my friends who had been living in Florida either. The United Kingdom was hit too. Their homes, destroyed. Their families killed or taken prisoner. All except for Ajmina. I sigh, thinking about what AJ was going through.

Her mother passed away not too long ago, and then this shit happens. She made a daring rescue for her two sisters and her father, and had two friends that she'd met on the world wide web of all places to help her with it all. Yet, now, I was sure she was being held, and they were all being tortured for information.

That was what bugged me; what kind of information could they possibly have that would be useful to Caroline? I shrugged. Too many thoughts in a single 30 seconds. I noticed that Carrie shifted closer to me. "If it helps…"

She looked over at me, and as I looked into her eyes, I could tell that she was being sincere in what she was about to say. "I trust you."

I leaned forward, the words echoing in my mind. _I__trust__you._I looked over at her, and she grabbed my hand. I gave hers a squeeze and put my arm around her pulling her into a hug, to which she rested her head on my shoulder.

"It does help."

Sarah, Chuck, and Casey stood in front of the large flat screen, which showed General Beckman on it. "General," Casey said, "We've been using our Military satellites to do a scan of the entire state of Florida, and we've found only one particular spot of major activity. We have reason to believe that this is where Kuhne may be hiding out, and possibly where she is holding prisoner."

"How many prisoners do you suspect?"

"Anywhere from two to six."

"General, Chuck flashed on her, as she's an acquaintance of Faulkner. When he flashed on his name, she came up as the only lead we have."

"Alright. In that case, you three are granted permission to head to the coordinates in Florida. Find Caroline Kuhne. Take her into custody. Find out what she's up to."

"Understood, General."

The screen went black, and the three looked around at each other. Then Sarah and Casey turned and went to pack for the trip. Chuck nodded to himself. "So, I think we should tell them we might have found her."

Casey shot a look at Chuck. "No, moron. Not a good idea. We think we found her, and knowing we found her, are two different things. Don't want to give them false hope."

Sarah nodded. "He's right Chuck. Let it go. If you want to tell them anything, you can tell them we're going to meet with the General to discuss plans on tracking her down."

Chuck nodded, and turned. "Right. More lying. I forgot." He left castle to tell the group what was going on. Or to lie about it.

I found myself sitting on top of the roof, staring down onto the garden of the complex. I saw Chuck walk through the front gate, looking anxious about something. He headed for our safe-house. I called down to him. He looked up, surprised. "Oh, wow! Hey! Didn't… uh… see ya up there."

I shrugged and stood up. "What you got for us?" I asked, climbing down to the ground. "Uh, well. We're going to discuss some plans for tracking down Caroline. It's uh… a long process, with the CIA and NSA to do things…"

I cocked an eyebrow. "Chuck…"

"We have a possible location for her. We're going to check it out. It might be nothing." I shifted my eyes to the ground. "What's the location?"

"Not far from where they found you… Look. Don't get your hopes up. Please."

"Bring them home alive." I said, looking up at him. He looked back at me, with surprised eyes. "I'll do my best. I promise."

He turned and walked back through the gate, disappearing from sight. I heard footsteps and turned to see Ouida walking up. "What was that about?"

"They think they may have a location on Caroline Kuhne. They're leaving to check it out. We're not supposed to know."

"Know what?"

"Smartass."

She just grinned.

**Antarctica – Umbrella Corporation Headquarters**

General Clymore marched through the large palace-like lobby, and stopped at a large half-moon shaped desk, which was manned by four security officers, who watched all security cams and allowed or denied access to visitors.

The lead officer nodded to Clymore. "General. Welcome back. Chairman Wesker is waiting for you in Conference room C."

"Thank You, Peter. Carry on."

Clymore marched passed the desk, and moved down a smaller, much simpler corridor. There were approximately six doors on either side of the hall, each one marked accordingly. Clymore took off, entering the third door on the right. He opened it, and walked in, and found a man of average height standing at the end of the large oval table.

"General Clymore. So good to see you again."

"And you, Chairman Wesker."

Clymore looked over the man. Albert Wesker wore his sunglasses, which kept his eyes covered from the public view. He wore a long leather jacket and gloves. His blond hair was combed back, forming the sleek look about him. He looked harmless.

But Clymore knew far better then that. He knew the man was armed. And not just with your standard weaponry. No… Clymore knew his true secret. "Shall we?" Wesker motioned to the chair in front of Clymore, and he nodded, taking a seat.

"How did the operation in the UK go?" Wesker asked.

"It could have gone better. The government is gone, but Bauer got away, with a band of rebels. Caroline's cleaning it up."

"I have no doubt. And what of Stark Industries?"

"Why are you asking so many questions about operations that you have no real involvement in, Chairman Wesker?"

The man showed no emotion, except for a slight frown that formed on his lips. "I ask, because I've learned that if I don't, I will be left out of the loop completely."

Clymore mulled over this and then leaned forward. "The Stark Industries operations failed. Caroline has half a group of rebels – the ones that helped Bauer escape – in custody. She's working on extracting the information as to where Bauer's at now. I have Hower moving to Stark's secondary compound now as well."

"What's the status of Florida?"

"Dead zone now. There's been an eruption of paranormal activity there, and we have a prehistoric mess as well."

"What about the population?"

"They've been extracted."

Wesker sat back, both arms on the armrests of the chair, almost smirking. Clymore almost glared. "Have you been in contact with Wade?"

"Harlan Wade?" Wesker chuckled. "That man is an annoyance. Why do we need him?"

"He is the only one with access to Alma and Paxton's DNA."

"I'll give him an hour. Then I'll go meet him in person."

"Very well."

There was a moment of silence. Then Wesker placed his hands neatly on the table. "What about the other half?"

"Excuse me?"

"You said she had half of them in custody. What of the other half?"

"We don't know who they are. We know that the government picked them up though."

"I'll handle it then…"

"Just remember – keep a low profile until the time is right."

"Don't worry about it. I know what to do."


	18. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen: Deadly Connections**

Emily Spence sat, staring at the TV, unable to believe what the news station was reporting. The entire state of Florida – it's population – vanished. She wanted to cry, but was feeling too… she didn't even have a word for it. Her two friends. Matthew and Rebecca Smith – gone. Vanished. Just like that. No trace. She couldn't believe it.

"What do you think happened?" her mom, Tommi Spence asked. Emily shrugged, but remained silent. Tommi looked over at her daughter. She could tell she was in slight emotional pain. One of – no two of her friends had vanished without a trace. No explanation.

"They're fine." Emily said at last. Tommi looked surprised. "How do you know?"

Emily shrugged. "Matt's always writing about situations like that. He'd know how to survive if one ever occurred. He's always bragging about it at least."

Tommi smiled and nodded.

Tony and James sat at the conference table, with Alec and Carina. "Mister Stark. Mister Rhodes. Would you mind explaining your reasons for showing up in the middle of Florida during a gunfight?"

Tony looked over at James, who blinked, and frowned. "Don't look at me." He said to Tony, who nodded. "Right. Right. It's my fault."

"It's not my suits they wanted."

Tony looked over at Alec. "Special Agent Weston. I'll tell you what we were doing in the middle of Florida as a gunfight was occurring."

Alec sat forward. "Please do."

"Helping you."

Alec cocked an eyebrow. "Mister Stark…"

"Yes, Special Agent?"

"Start at the beginning."

"Right. A strange man by the name of David Hower came knocking on my door, maybe… three hours before the gunfight. Said his client was interested in my suit. I told him to get lost. They came back, we fought it out, and Hower escaped, and we picked up your movement on our systems."

"So, what… you decided to check it out?"

"Yes."

_Meanwhile…_

_**Stark Industries– Los Angeles, CA**_

The door was kicked open, and a team of militia soldiers rushed in, with heavy armor. "Clean it out. Find the suits."

_Back at the interview…_

A beeping sound went off. Carina and Alec looked up at Tony, who looked at his watch. "Uh… Rhodey…"

"What, Tony?"

"Someone's back at my shop."

Alec stood up. "What?"

"I have an intruder. Multiples, actually." He took out his phone, and tapped something in. Then he handed Alec a cam feed of his flat.

Multiple men had entered, heavily protected with armor and with big weaponry. "What the hell?"

He tossed Tony the phone and took out his. "This is Agent Weston. I need a strike team to Stark Industries in LA five minutes ago!" He and Carina rushed out the door, and Tony cocked an eyebrow, looking over at Rhodey. "Well, I guess this debriefing is over. Come on."

James stood. "Tony, wait. Let them…"

"James, they are after my other suits. The blue prints are still there. If that gets into the wrong hangs… no. I'm not having it. Now let's go."

I walked down to Castle, which was dark. I'd become very skillful these past few days at memorizing codes just by watching. The team had ran off to go find Caroline, leaving us alone for the time being. That was probably a bad idea. I was bound to get into a lot of trouble.

Christian, Tim and Vanessa were off watching TV or hanging out, Ouida, Misha and Carrie were doing the same together, talking about girl-things. That left me to fend for myself at this point. Might as well explore. I stepped down the stairs and into the main operations area of the CIA facility.

There were a few work stations, computer stations and what not, but nothing that caught my eye. I moved into another room, and along the back wall, was an entire selection of every kind of weapon you could think of.

I stared, in awe. I walked over. Did the code work for the lockers? I tried it. There was a beep and a green light flashed, and I pulled the door open, and it released. I felt my heart rate increase. I had just unlocked their armory. I glanced around, and then quickly locked it back, before retreating for the door, on the off chance I set off some kind of alarm.

They'd been walking for hours. Mulder had his suit jacket hanging over his shoulder, as he walked along side Scully, down the deserted road leading seemingly to nowhere. Fox checked his watch. It had stopped working.

"Any idea how long we've been walking?" He asked Scully. She shook her head, combing strands of hair from her face. "No. Mulder… I have a bad feeling about all this."

He shrugged. "I know Scully. But, I'm convinced that Matthew Smith and his friends were telling the truth." He glanced over at her. "What about you?"

"What about me, Mulder?"

"What are your convictions on the subject at hand?"

She sighed. It wasn't just annoyance. It was exhaustion. Hunger. Thirst. "I don't know Mulder. It could have just been an illusion – a magic trick of some kind."

Mulder chuckled. She looked at him. "What's so funny?"

"You're basing the explanation on it being a magic trick…"

"Well, Mulder, what else am I suppose to say?"

"The man vanished in front of us. Those creatures… they weren't human. I'd say it was paranormal."

He suddenly stopped. "What is it?"

He nodded ahead, down the road. There was a large – no – massive compound ahead. Almost like an industrial site. "What do you think it is?"

Mulder shrugged. "I don't know… but it's the first place we've seen for miles. Let's check it out."

The militia soldier – whom has no name, because I'm too lazy to come up with a temporary character – stood standing the entrance to the old InGen site. He chewed his gum, checking in every five minutes, as ordered to do by Kuhne herself. There were about seven other guys out there with him.

Until he felt a tapping on his shoulder. "Douglas, what the fuck is it?"

He turned and saw a man in his late 30s, almost frowning. He cocked an eyebrow, and almost winked. "I'm not Douglas. And it's lights out." John Casey punched the man hard in the face, knocking him out.

Sarah and Chuck ran up behind him. "Alright. Well. It looks like some one might be home. Let's go knock…"

"You uh… don't really mean that, right?" Casey looked over at Chuck, and growled. "Right. You don't mean it literally."

"Chuck, come on." Sarah said as they ran up to the door that led into the compound. Casey looked around it, under it, and pretty much through it, before he kicked it in. "Whoa." Chuck murmured, as they ran in. There were several clicking sounds and Casey froze.

"Don't move, government pig." A man's voice hissed. Casey growled. Chuck heard a click to his side and he looked, to see a gun pointed at his head. Suddenly he flashed. Multiple defensive and offensive moves ran through his mind at light-speed, and then he reacted, bringing he hand up hard, knocking the gun from the man's hand.

He followed up with a kick to the abdomen, sending the man flying backwards down a short staircase. Casey and Sarah went with it, and jumped the other three guys, freeing them of their weapons and putting them to bed for the time being.

There was a loud crack as a shotgun was pumped. They all turned and saw a young woman standing with an assault shotgun aimed at them. "Can I help you with something?" She asked.

Casey winced. "Caroline Kuhne. You are wanted for questioning for suspicion of possible treason."

She laughed, stepping into the light. "The only thing you're here to do, is to free the prisoners I'm holding."

"Well, hey, now that you've admitted it…" Sarah said, taking a step forward. Sarah looked back at Chuck and Casey. "Go find them. I'll deal with her." She said, and Caroline tossed the shotgun aside.

Casey nodded to Chuck and they both took for the staircase. "Why don't you just surrender, and make it easy on yourself?" Sarah asked. Caroline smirked. "I hate doing things the easy way, don't you know?"

Suddenly She threw a punch, which Sarah blocked easily. "Come on. You can do better…"

Caroline gritted her teeth and then went on a full assault, throwing punches and kicks of all fashion, as Sarah fought furiously to ward them off.

Meanwhile, Chuck led the way down to a cell block of sorts. Casey looked around, seeming surprised at such a thing. "This is sick." He muttered. Chuck nodded in agreement. He took out two pair of bolt cutters from a duffle bag. "Let's get started."

Casey took one and nodded.

He opened the first one, and found man with a face that had taken a beating. He looked like he could barely see at this point. "Sir… my name is John Casey, with the United States Government. Can you hear me?"

The man gasped and spat blood onto the ground as he looked up at Casey, groggily. "That's interested. John White. Nice to meet you… are my daughters okay?"

"Baba?" White looked up, and coughed up more blood and a young girl rushed into the cell, herself looking like hell with a bloody lip, and a black eye, with several brushings on her cheeks and arms.

"Mima! Thank God." The two embraced. Another girl raced in, and continued the embrace. Casey looked over at Chuck, and he give him an approving nod. _Good__Job._

Sarah ducked from another punch and came with a counter attack, sending several punches into Caroline's face, and then leapt into the air with a kick, only to be knocked down. "I'm not one to be captured. So, just give it up." She turned, and raced away down the corridor, turning once with a pistol in hand as Sarah got to her feet, and shooting the control module for the gate, which dropped, blocking Sarah from getting to her. Caroline smiled. "Better luck next time."

And with that, she vanished around the corner.


	19. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen: The Package**

There was a general whisper between Vanessa and Christian as the seven of us sat there, quietly waiting. Sarah had called and said that they'd had some success, but wouldn't go into details over the phone. They were supposed to be back an hour ago. I looked at the clock on the wall.

"Where are they…?" I muttered to myself. Ouida bumped arms with me. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just anxious to see the rest of my friends." She smiled, when suddenly the gate opened outside. I jumped to my feet and rushed to the door, and opened it and saw Sarah standing there, with Chuck. "Where are they?"

"Being debriefed by Casey and Agent Bristow."

"Sounds like a big deal…" Christian chuckled. I shot him a look, and Sarah put her hand on my shoulder. I couldn't help but feel a rush of random emotions for just a split second. "They're all doing fine. Beaten up, but alive and will survive."

"Now, come on. Let's talk to everyone. I do have some news…"

Chuck almost seemed to frown when she said that. We followed her inside and she sat down next to Chuck, as we gathered around, almost as if it was story time. "We found them. They're alive, and will live."

"I sense a but." Said Tim. Chuck nodded. "But… Caroline escaped."

"So she was there." Carrie said. He nodded. "Confirmed. Sarah had a close-combat encounter with her. "To which," Sarah said, "I must say, she's very skilled. We're almost evenly matched in combat skills."

"Almost?"

She smiled. "Exactly. She had to forfeit the fight and make a getaway."

"Any idea where she's headed now?"

"Well, she's looking for Jack Bauer."

"And where is he?"

Suddenly Sarah's phone rang. She looked at it, and then answered it. "Casey. What's the news?"

She paused, listening. Then she nodded. "Alright. We're on our way."

She hung up and looked at us. "They want you all down there. Major debrief."

"About time…"

**Stark Industries– Los Angeles, CA**

The place was a mess. Tony stood in the middle of the room, agents and crime scene investigators scattered around him, taking samples here, snapping pictures there. He stared at the empty suit display. The latest one was gone. His blueprints – gone. Rhodey stood next to him, chewing on his bottom lip. "Tony, this is bad…"

Tony nodded in disbelief.

"Tony this is very bad. Very, very…"

"Rhodey, I know. This is bad. The bad guys have my plans and the suit."

Tony watched Agent Evans move through the crime scene, talking to random agents, collecting information for her investigation. "I really don't need to be reminded that they have technology that is very destructive if not in the right hands. That they could develop an unstoppable army that could destroy the world as we know it. No, I don't need to be reminded of that, thanks."

Evans walked up. "Well, they left no trace. But with your security system we know it was David Hower."

"Do you have an idea of where he went?"

Evans shook her head. "No. They vanished after the robbery."

"That's great. Tony, this is bad."

"Thanks for pointing that out, buddy."

"In any case, I need you to come with me back to the office. They found the other prisoners of Caroline Kuhne."

"Oh. Press Conference." Tony said, giving Rhodey a sarcastic smile. "Let's go give ourselves a pat on the back."

"For what?" Rhodey asked as the two walked away. "For helping out the bad guys." Tony yelled as he left the building. Rhodey made a face and ran to catch up.

**Antarctica – Umbrella Corporation Headquarters**

Albert Wesker stood in front of the screen. The information flashed on the screen. "Chairman Wesker…"

He turned and saw a young girl, dressed in a white dress. Or rather, a holoimage of a little girl in a white dress. A personal representation of the White Queen – the IA System that helped run the Umbrella Systems.

"What is it?"

"I've ran a complete check on Matthew Smith – the one who seems to be leading the young rebels."

"So we have a name now…"

"And am Image." A picture of a young man appeared on the screen. Wesker studied him. "Any Connections we can use?"

"I've discovered several. He's actually got a connection in the USA. One; Emily Spence that he confers with on the world wide web."

Wesker smiled to himself as the picture of the young girl appeared.

David Hower sat watching the TV. He took his phone out, and listened. "Deliver it. We can't wait on Bauer anymore. We're being forced to speed up the operations deadlines."

"What about Wade and Fettel's DNA?"

"By the time you've delivered the package, we'll have unsealed it and began synthesis of it."

"Alright. Confirmed. Delivery of the package will be taken care of. All you have to do is watch the live coverage. Soon, the world shall know what we care capable of."

He looked back at a militia soldier. "Prep the package. It's time."

**Florida - Armacham Technology Corporation HQ**

Harlan Wade moved down the corridor and walked over to the security office. He entered the code to the door, and went inside. He glanced at the monitors, and saw two suits – possible government agents approaching the west entrance.

He picked up the phone and dialed a number. After a moment he almost yelled into the phone. I'm getting it ready! You didn't have to send your goons after me!"

A pause.

"They're not yours? Then… they must be…"

Another pause.

"I'm working on it. I'll get the samples out now. Can you have a ride ready for me in 15 minutes? Pick me up on the roof. Good."

He hung up the phone, and raced out of the room. He had samples to procure from the Cell Room.

Mulder peered into the window of the door and saw a dark hall. "Any cell signals?" He asked Scully. She shook her head. "Nothing, Mulder. We're on our own."

He shrugged. "Well, let's see what's going on inside." He put his elbow into the window, breaking it. Carefully reaching inside, he unlocked the door, and opened it. Before entering, they drew their weapons.

They moved down the dark hall, flash lights out and in position under their guns, which were in firing position. Scully tapped Mulder on the shoulder and nodded up ahead. "Elevators." He looked from her, down the hall to the lobby – and the elevators. He tilted his head in a nod.

Harlan stopped at a heavy blast door, and entered a code into the keypad, and then pressed his thumb against a scanner. It beeped and a green light came on. The door then slid open, and he moved inside, with the door closing behind him.

And then it locked.

Mulder and Scully stood, waiting on the elevator, which seemed to be working; but taking it's time arriving on the floor. Mulder started to whistle a random theme of woo, woo, woo, woo…

Suddenly there were shouts. "Freeze!", "Get them!", and "Open fire!" – in which there was an assault. Mulder and Scully fired back, ducking for cover every few seconds, until finally, the elevator opened, and they backed up inside, firing at the soldiers as the doors to the elevator closed.

Harlan rushed over to the control panel, but not before glancing nervously at the chamber in the center of the room. He glanced at the monitors and noted a change in the atmosphere inside the chamber. It wasn't good for the DNA samples. He quickly entered the code which began to unlock sequence.

There was a humming sound, and then a hissing sound, as the chamber door slowly opened out and then upward. Inside the chamber was dark. Harlan grabbed a flashlight from the desk and switched it on, before inching forward, toward the chamber.

He stopped at the door, and flashed the light inside, and saw the two samples sitting in their sealed containers, ready to be moved. He let out a sigh of relief, and then stepped inside and grabbed the samples. Just as the door started to close. He turned, a shot of adrenaline rushing through his chubby body. He ducked under the closing door and moved clear as it finished closing.

He smiled, as if he'd accomplished something. He quickly made his way to the roof via the stairwell, which took about ten minutes. As he ran up the steps, he took his phone out. "I have the samples." He said.

"Good. The chopper is waiting on the roof."

Harlan hung up the phone and raced up to the roof. As he stumbled through the door, he smiled at the sight of the chopper, who's rotors were already turning. Several soldiers rushed forward, and Harlan stopped, as they reached for the samples. He pulled them from their reach. "I'm taking it to him, personally." He snarled.

They both stared behind him. Harlan suddenly felt uneasy. The samples fell from his hand, and the soldiers snatched it before it could shatter on the ground. They both turned and ran to the chopper, as Harlan turned and saw a fully grown, nude woman, who's hair covered the majority of her face.

"Alma… Please…" he said, struggling to breath from a panic attack, as the woman stepped toward him. Harlan turned and saw the chopper taking off.

The elevator stopped finally, and opened up to the roof. Mulder and Scully ran out onto the helipad and saw a man flailing his arms at a chopper who was taking off.

"NO! Don't leave me!"

Suddenly there was a quick flash of white light. "Scully!" Mulder said, asking her – did she see it. She just nodded. "Yes, Mulder…"

A young woman, completely naked, except for the strands of hair that covered her breasts, but mostly her face, stepped forward to the man, and he turned to her, and began to sob, telling her he was sorry for all the pain he'd caused.

Suddenly he just exploded, his skin and blood and internal organs and everything just vaporized all over the pad, leaving his skeleton as the only remains. Suddenly there was another flash of white light, and the young woman appeared closer, walking toward them, changing from woman to a little girl in a red dress.

"Stop!" Scully screamed. Mulder grabbed her, and pulled her back, as the woman/girl flashed closer to them, and suddenly was directly in front of them, and then she suddenly flashed, vanishing from sight completely. The only sound they could hear, was the sound of a small child's giggle.

Sarah pulled the SUV up in front of the CIA Office. I stared out the window at the mass of people outside. It was the press. Camera. Microphones. Vans. Reporters. I closed my eyes. "You okay?" Ouida asked. I frowned. "I'm not a fan of the press. Even with smaller reports. But this… this is a world-wide report."

Sarah and Chuck glanced back at us. "Everyone ready?"

"Ready for what? I thought this was a debriefing."

"It is… sort of." Chuck said, with a soft smile on his face. It was his best way of trying to keep us calm. It wasn't helping me. "You don't have to say anything to anyone. Just keep your head down out there, and we'll move you through the crowd as quickly as possible." Sarah said.

I noted the other SUV pulling up in front of us. "Let's go then…"

Sarah and Chuck got out and opened our doors, and we got out. I looked over at the other SUV and saw Tony Stark and James Rhodes get out with Agent Evans. I took a breath and then followed Sarah and Chuck through the crowd with my friends close by my side. The reporters shoved microphones and cameras at us, and a wave of noisy chatter – questions – hit my ears – and my head.

And then we were inside, of a slightly lighter lobby. We moved to the elevators. We took a ride up to the sixth floor, and moved down the hall, where about four men guarded a door. Sarah and Chuck IDed themselves, and the men checked on their IDs. After a moment they were cleared and we entered through the door.

Inside was a massive lecture hall. At the head was a man in a suit, flanked by two men, which I'll also note, the room was full of about ten more men. Sarah and Chuck moved up, and indicated for us to take a seat. I saw Kirsty, Lara, AJ, Shandana, and their Father, John in a wheelchair off to the side.

I walked over and took a seat across from AJ, who looked like she'd been beaten. They all had. I gave her a worried a look, and she just smiled. Strange female, that one. That's why I liked her.

Tony and James entered and took a seat next to Alec and Carina, and then Sydney entered the room as well, taking a seat next to Carina. The man at the end stood and looked at us all. "Are we all here?"

"We're missing Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, whom are currently in the field, Mister President."

I felt my jaw drop open. Ouida nudged me. I closed it.

"Can we get them on the line at least?"

Bristow stood. "I'll give it a try, Mister President."

She dialed them, and put it on speaker. It rang three times, and went to voice mail.

"That's a negative, Mister President."

He nodded. "Alright. Let's get this show on the road. Bring in the press."

The doors opened and several different camera crews and reporters entered, and I rolled my eyes. "You've got to be kidding me…"

Emily flipped through the TV channels, bored. "Come on. There's got to be something good on TV…"

She flipped the channel again and saw a live report on CNN. She stopped as she read the headline. Official debriefing with victims of Florida Vanishing Act. She stared, as the cameras zoomed on one person in particular.

"MATT?" She exclaimed. Tommi came into the room. "What is this?"

"Matt's on TV!"

Tommi looked at the TV, and she stared. "In the same room as the President of the United States?"

Emily watched the TV and almost laughed. "He must be having a hard time not drooling."

"Why do you say that?"

"Look who's sitting next to him."

Tommi glanced at the TV and saw Carrie Underwood. "Oh…" She said, as a matter of fact.

The President took out twelve different files. "I would first like to address the victims." He said, looking at each of us. "I'm sorry you are here today, because of what you've all gone through. I can not promise this will be easy for any of you, but I can promise that it will help catch the people responsible for this sick acts that have taken place against you and the entire country the past few days."

He looked around at us, stopping on each and every one of us, a personal nod, or wink. "I've read each of your reports personally, and…" He took a breath, choosing his words carefully. "To be honest, some of it is unbelievable. But, the same thing can be said for what happened in the state of Florida; the UK."

He smiled and sat down. "Let's begin. Agent Alec Weston. You are up."

Alec stood up.

"My first question, Agent Weston; your report stated that Matthew Smith and his group fled into the underground InGen bunker to avoid being eaten by Velociraptors, correct?"

"Yes, Mister President."

"Now, Velociraptor's are a species of prehistoric times, correct?"

Alec nodded. "We have reason to believe that Caroline Kuhne's operations staff has control of John Hammond's Dino DNA cloning facilities."

"And what could she possibly do with that kind of… material?"

"Wreak havoc." Everyone looked down and over toward me. I blinked. The President nodded. "Please. Don't be shy. If you have something to input, please, feel free."

"Alright." I stood up, felt my heart rate increase. "I know it's hard to believe. Dinosaurs. They don't exist anymore! Right? Wrong. Thanks to John Hammond, they do exist. And they are in an unfamiliar world, and they're scared to death."

"Do you have a point?"

"If Caroline sets these creatures loose, you'll never see another day of calm cities for a long while. She'll have the power."

I heard a chuckle. I looked over at Tony Stark. The President cleared his throat. I sat down. "Mister Stark, what do you have to share with us?"

A man in a suit moved through the crowd of reporters and camera crews toward the building. He reached the front doors and entered. With a glance around, he noted only three people in the lobby. The security guards, and the man who sat at the information desk.

He smiled, and reached behind him, pulling a silenced pistol. The guards looked up, and there was a sickening sound of blood splattering against the walls behind their heads. The information assistant looked up, and then scrambled to his feet, when several shots hit his back. He fell to the ground.

Stark got to his feet. "Right. Mister President. With all due respect, Caroline Kuhne already has the power. They have my suit. My blueprints."

I looked up at him, surprised. "Are you serious?"

He nodded. "Yeah… it's bad."

Chatter erupted in the room. I sat in the chair, sighing. The President raised his voice suddenly. "Shut up!" Everyone stopped and looked over at him, all red faced. "We have a terrorist cell out there, with a dangerous weapon, and the power to create prehistoric life. We have other problems as well…"

The man leaned over the assistant. "Which conference room is the debriefing taking place in? the man whimpered and told him. "Sixth floor…"

"Good boy." The man put one last bullet into his cranium and moved for the elevator, which he took up to the sixth floor. As the doors opened the secret service turned and looked at the elevator. In the middle sat a large box. There was a humming sound coming from it.

The President looked down at the reports. "Miss Ouida Brown."

She stood up. "Your report, as well as Matthew's stated that you were attacked by paranormal forces at the Florida Hospital College. And that… they killed one of your friends."

She nodded. "Yes. That's correct."

"If I may, Mister President…" Sydney said. He nodded at her. "We have Agent Mulder and Scully investigating that as we speak."

"Why can't you reach them?"

"I'm not sure. I have a team out there now."

"You have two missing agents in the middle of a state that has just gone through vacancy with dinosaurs and paranormal entities running wild. And you don't even have a location on Miss Kuhne. Am I correct?"

I sighed and stood up again. "Mister President. That's correct."

"You are not an agent. I'm asking Agent Bristow and Agent Weston."

"I'm not an agent, but I saw first hand what the hell is going on out there. My family is missing. 90 percent of my co-workers and friends were killed. I was almost killed. I almost lost most of the people in this room. People I love. So forget me not being an agent. I'm a witness. And the agents? They're doing their best! So… give them more time…"

Suddenly Casey stood up. "The young man is right. Investigations take a little time…"

Suddenly the phone rang. Sydney looked at the caller ID. "Finally. It's Agent Mulder and Agent Scully." She answered it. "Agents. Where have you been? I've been try…"

Mulder rolled his eyes. "Sydney. Listen to me. You have to get…"

"No, Mulder. Listen to me. I'm putting you on speaker with the president and everyone involved with this debriefing…"

"Alright…"

"Agent Mulder. This is the President. What's your status."

"Armacham technology corporation head quarters in Florida. Listen, there's no time to discuss anything. Scully and I have found some documents that point to an attack at this debriefing."

Suddenly there was shouting in the background.

The Secret Service agents came through the door and closed it. "Initiate lockdown!" They turned and scrambled toward the president. "Everyone, take cover. We have an explosive device outside on the elevator…"

Suddenly there was a loud roar and the floor shook. The secret service rushed forward, and tackled the President to the ground. I stood up. "Everyone, get down!" I shouted, yanking Carrie and Ouida down under the table, before leaping up onto the table, as the room got warm. I could see a glow under the door. I raced over the table, and leapt up, rushing toward Ajmina, as a blue colored energy halo rushed into the room, sending everything it touched flying in all directions.

"Mister President? Sydney? Alec?" Mulder called on the phone. No one responded, as the line went dead. "Damn it!" He yelled, switching off his phone. Scully looked at him, and he just shook his head.


	20. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen: From The Other Side**

The room was a massive wreak. The tables and chairs were in pieces. Windows and anything glass was shattered all over the room. Half of the ceiling tiles were strung about, revealing the ventilation, piping and electrical wiring of the building. Multiple light fixtures flickered on and off due to connectivity problems, giving the entire room a dark subdued feel about it.

I opened my eyes, and shifted them around, looking around the dark room, my heart speeding up at each light flicker, which casted random shadows about. I pushed myself up from the awkward crooked position against the back wall to a sitting position.

I felt a sharp pain in my back, and winced, tears coming to my eyes. I rubbed them clean, and forced myself to stand up, and almost tripped on a random piece of debris, as I glanced around the room, breathing heavily. Then I saw the President. I moved over next to him, and checked his pulse. A faint beat. _Good.__He__'__s__alive._I stood and looked around, still wincing from the pain in my back.

I stumbled over, finding Casey. I checked his pulse, and suddenly his left hand reached up and grabbed mine strongly. He opened his eyes, and growled at me. Then he released my hand, and sat up, holding his head. "What the hell just happened?" He asked. I shook my head. "I don't know. Some kind of EMP device?"

"Possible… Is the President…?"

I nodded. "He's alive. Come on," I said, extending my hand, "Help me check on the others."

We quickly scouted the mess of a room, and found everyone alive. I knelt down next to Ajmina, and brushed a lock of hair from her face as she woke. "Hey." I said softly. I could imagine her head was pounding. She smiled, and winced – mostly from pain. "Hey." She said, her voice choked up. "You okay?" I asked. She nodded slowly. "Yeah. I will once I get a good drink in me."

I chuckled, and pulled her to her feet, and hissed in pain, grabbing my back. I felt a dampness fill my palm, and drew it back. _Blood._I looked up at Ajmina, who turned me around, and moaned in aggravation. "You got a nasty gash there, Matt…"

I rolled my eyes. "Just my luck." I said. I glanced around the room, as everyone slowly woke, and began asking question. Questions that no one had answers to. "So, I'm guessing, the question is; what the fuck happened?" Ajmina asked. I nodded slowly, when there was a ding outside the room.

The elevator.

The few secret service agents turned, drawing their firearms and aiming at the door. Footsteps came up to the door, and then a deep voice called out, "Don't shoot!"

The door handle turned and the door opened. Then Jack Bauer walked in, holding a pistol with both hands in a defensive posture. He looked around at all of us, then settled his eyes on the President. SS Agents still had their firearms aimed at Bauer.

"Mister President. My name is Jack Bauer. And I'm going to ask you to come with me. I need to get you to safety."

The President looked over at Jack, and then looked around at everyone else. "What's the rush?"

"I don't have time to explain. Hell, I wouldn't even know where to begin, after what I saw outside. I need you to trust me. _Please!_"

Suddenly he took out his cell phone and answered it. "Go."

He listened for a moment, and then looked at the President. "I'm putting you on speaker. Chloe, you tell him."

He pressed a button and held the phone out, so everyone could hear a female's voice. "Mister President. Chloe O'Brian. Shortly after the energy surge in the building you are standing in, there were a mass of reports that flooded into local and national police departments and agencies. They all reported that robots are attacking."

"Robots?" Chuck yelped. Everyone looked over at him, and he looked down sheepishly.

"I need you to go with Jack, and get back here, where it's safe."

"Where are you located?"

"I'm not releasing that information on this unsecure line. But I can assure you it's completely safe and secure."

The President looked over at Jack, and then over at Sydney, Casey, Alec, Carina, and Sarah. The few agents in the room were the best of the best. He'd trust their judgments. "What do you all think?"

The agents looked around at each other. John Casey spoke. "Mister President. I think for not only your safety, but for the entire nation's safety, it would be best if you listened to Mister Bauer. After all, he did spoil eight terrorist plots in his lifetime. He knows what he's doing…"

The President smiled softly. "Fine. Lead the way."

Jack opened the door with a tap of hit foot. He glanced out, left and right. Then he looked back at the secret service agents and all of the special agents in the group. He nodded. All clear. He led us down the corridor, and into the stairwell, where we all raced down to the basement floor, where the parking garage was. He stopped and nodded his head to the secret service agents. "Where'd you park the cars?"

I almost laughed. It seemed like such a simple question and a simple problem. Where'd you park? This wasn't a movie though. It was real life, and they apparently just don't have the cars waiting on hand. They park them in a parking space like everyone else.

"We parked them just down here." Jack looked around. "Alright. Mister President. Stay close. Let's move."

The secret service agents ran forward, and Jack, nodded to the President, and we all started after the agents ahead. As we moved down the length of the garage, there was a slight rumble under my feet. I glanced down, and looked around to see if anyone else noticed it.

Apparently not. "The cars." I saw the agents unlock the two large SUVs with remotes. The ground continued to shake. Now I looked around at Kirsty. "Do you…"

She looked at me, confused. Before either of us could say anymore, the entire ground rose up, taking both SUVs with it. In front of us, roared a massive robot. It stood at about 15 foot tall, and it's mechanical eyes glow red.

Jack forced the President back, as the SS agents fired at the robot. The bullets did nothing but make little dinging sounds as they bounced off the heavy steel body of the robot, who let out a massive roar, before sweeping it's massive hand down, knocking the agents away; one went flying into the windshield of a Minivan, and the other went into the concrete wall.

Jack let out a scream of horror; he'd once again lost someone he'd been trying to protect. Everyone scattered around the garage, as the massive robot climbed up out of the ground and stood over us. I looked around and saw Ouida, Christian, and Lara racing over toward a nearby parked car. A glance to my left caught sight of AJ, Shandana, Misha, Kirsty, and John taking cover behind a truck.

I heard gunshots and looked to my ten-o-clock, and saw Alec, Carina, Jack, Sydney, Sarah, and Casey shooting at the robot to no avail. "We're going to have to split up!" Casey screamed, unloading another clip into the massive enemy. "Sarah!" I looked to my two-o-clock and saw Chuck standing away with the President.

And then I noticed everyone's eyes were on me. "Matt! Move!" I looked up and saw the robot looking down at me. Suddenly a massive plated foot crashed down, mere centimeters from my toes. I looked up at it again and then jolted backwards. I literally slid around a corner and slammed up against a concrete barrier as the robot ran past, in search of me. I felt two arms hug me tight. "Thank God, Matt!" I heard Vanessa hiss. I let out a huge breath. "Thanks, for scaring the shit out of me, Vanessa." I heard a male voice chuckle. I looked past Vanessa and saw Tim standing there. "Thought you were toast there for a second, Matt."

"So did I." I muttered, looking around the corner. Suddenly there was the sound of tires squealing through the parking garage. "It's coming back…"

"What the hell are you talking about, that's the sound of cars…"

Suddenly an SUV spun around the corner, and the driver jammed the brakes on. The driver's door opened up and Sydney jumped out. "Get in. Now!" I didn't hesitate. She was an ally, and we needed to get the hell out.

I shoved Vanessa and Tim into the back seat and jumped into the front passenger with Sydney, as she hit the gas. I watched through the windshield as she sped around, making for the exit. Another car came from the right, driven by Bauer, and we quickly followed him out of the structure.

Outside, any normal person would have had to dive out of the way, as the sedan flew up out of the underground parking structure, before slamming down onto it's front wheels first and spinning around and making left, down the street.

As Sydney brought our SUV out, there was a massive rumble behind us as the robot appeared yet again, swinging it's arms at us, in an lame attempt to stop us in our tracks. I reached forward attempting to grab onto anything I could, as the SUV flew forward, accelerated by the force from the robot.

Sydney slammed her foot down on the brakes and spun the wheel as it SUV hit the ground. She then jammed her foot on the gas after shifting into reverse. She put her right arm behind the head rest of my seat and looked back as she forced the car to fly backward. As she reached the intersection, she spun the wheel again, sending it turning to the left, as the robot barreled toward us. I heard Vanessa let out a sharp scream as Sydney hit the gas pedal again, clearing a collision with the robot in the nick of time.

I turned and looked back, as did Vanessa and Tim. Then I heard Sydney breath, "Oh, my God." I turned back and looked out the window, and almost gasped at the sight. A quick pull out of the scene would show you, the reader, this;

The sky is black, not because there is no sun, but because it's blocked out by the massive triangular space cruisers overhead. Smaller flat panel-winged fighters flew in packs all over, causing chaos as they fired at the random population on the ground.

In the background, you can see chaos as buildings burned. It was like a version of 9/11 from hell. In front of us, several people ran down the street, as a car raced after them, with a smaller robot racing after the car, firing a weapon of sorts. The car exploded from behind, and flipped forward, crushing the people in front of it. Vanessa gasped, forcing herself to hold back the sobs she oh so dearly wanted to let out.

Suddenly the radio crackled. "Bristow, you copy?"

It was Casey. She grabbed the radio. "We're here."

"Head for Castle. It's underground, and probably the safest place."

"Copy… I…"

"Go!"

The radio went silent, and Sydney put it away, and hit the accelerator, speeding through the madness.

The door opened and Sydney rushed down the steps into castle, with me, Vanessa, and Tim hot on her heels. As we rushed in, Casey, Sarah, Jack, Alec and Carina all turned, aiming a variety of weapons at us. Sydney ignored it, as we moved down the steps. "Some one explain what the hell is going on!" She hissed, as everyone lowered and holstered their weapons.

"I don't know, but it's looking a lot like a galaxy far, far away out there!" Chuck said. We all looked over at him. "Those were Imperial Star Destroyers. What was chasing us, was a decepticon. Transformer. Alien Robot."

"Impossible." Muttered the President.

"Really?" Christian piped up. "You saw it. All of it."

"They have a point, Mister President." Ajmina said. The president looked around at the agents in the room. They said nothing with their voices. But their eyes spoke instead. The man of power nodded in agreement. "Fine. What is the plan of fixing this problem."

"There is no fixing it. Rome wasn't built in a day." Casey said. "Look," Jack said, "We know who's behind it all. Kuhne. Hower."

"Who's behind them?" Lara asked. "And another good question is, why all this, why now?"

We all stood around, wondering if any of these questions were going to have answers, when suddenly every monitor in castle flashed, and a masked figure appeared on the screens.

"Citizens of the world; Allow me to introduce myself." There was a pause as the figure adjusted his seat. "My name is Darth Revan. Dark Lord of the Sith. And I hope you plan to surrender without a fight. To make it easy, you may surrender to any local Battle Droid, and you will meet no harm, or otherwise, face a quick death. Defy me, and you will be met with a slow, painful, terrifying death. Let this planetary takeover go peacefully. Please."

Suddenly the screens went blank. I blinked. This whole entire thing had gone out of control. "Holy shit. We'll be robbed!"

"Shut up, Tim."

"Who the fuck is this Darth Revan, and why is he trying to take over our planet?" Shandana hissed. Misha looked over at her sister, with a cocked eyebrow. I walked over to the computer, and accessed the rooftop cameras. I stared at the biggest star destroyer in the sky. The Super Star Destroyer.

"I'm sure it has to do with Caroline… and Hower. Either way… the key to stopping this whole takeover, is to shut down that ship… and it's captain."

**ISSD Triple Zero**

The bridge doors slid open and the lead battle droid walked in, and the robed, masked being called Revan, swiveled around in his chair. "Lord Revan."

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"Agent Kuhne and Hower are here to see you."

"Fabulous. Send them in immediately."

"Yes, sir." The droid turned, and the blast doors opened. Caroline and David walked into the bridge, and they both gave simple nods to Revan. "My comrades. It's so good to see you in the flesh."

"As you, Lord Revan." Caroline said. Revan nodded slowly. "Please, come. General Clymore shall arrive soon. The remaining parts of the operation shall begin soon, on his order."

Caroline and Hower glanced over at one another, and they both just smirked.


	21. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen: The General**

The blast doors to the private conference room slid open and the tall dark figure walked in, and stood at the head of the table. Revan stood, but Caroline and David remained seated. "General Clymore. It is an honor to be in your presence." Revan said, bowing his head.

Clymore nodded. "The feeling is mutual, my friend. However, we are short on time. Let us begin. First I want to debrief you, Revan."

"Very good." They all took their seats.

"The Operation in the United Kingdom was a partial success. Their government was shut down. However, we were unable to convince Bauer into joining our cause."

"I take it you had the package delivered via other means?"

"I did. Moving on, the operation in Florida; the outcome was unknown. A group of employees went rogue and took out Faulkner."

"Is there any good news?"

"Mr. Hower procured the suits, and We have the DNA from Wade and Fettel."

"Is, that it?"

You're here, are you not?"

Revan thought for a moment. "Indeed…"

"In addition, Darth, I do suggest you think about who is running this operation. It is not you, but I who developed this entire takeover. Without me, there would be no you."

Revan did a double take at Clymore's words, but said nothing. "Now, the DNA is being processed. The Super-Soldiers, whom I refer to as the Dark Ghosts, will begin production in only a few hours. As a test, I shall release the T-Virus into the general population. If the Dark Ghosts are a success, then they should be able to clean the infected population…"

Revan glanced over at Caroline, who simply smiled. "Soon, my friends… we shall be unstoppable. And then… we shall be referred to as Gods."

There was a loud clanging sound as the gate to the armory was swung open. "There are way too many things out there. How do you expect survive long enough to take down the ship?"

Jack Bauer looked over at Sydney Bristow. I walked up behind them. "We don't." I said simply. Sydney looked over at me, confused. "We have to board the ship, and destroy it from the inside."

"That's suicide."

"Not if we're smart about it." I turned and looked over at Chuck. "Chuck. I'm going to need Lucas's blueprints for that Super Star Destroyer."

Chuck looked around, his turn to be confused. "Uh, how am I supposed to get that?"

"You, are a nerd. A geek. A tech guy. Don't play stupid."

Chuck, with a sheepish looked, turned and went over to a drawer and pulled out a large sheet of paper – blueprints.

"Show me the bridge." I said, walking over next to him. Chuck spun his finger around the paper, and stopped, tapping on the spot where the bridge was located. I nodded. "Alright. Docking port." Chuck indicated it, and cocked an eyebrow.

"Now… the main reactor."

Chuck stared down at the blueprints, and then tacked his finger on the spot. I followed the path from the docking port to the reactor, and from the port to the bridge. It was going to be a two team job.

I glanced around at the people around me. None of them were strangers to me. But I could see it already. Who is going to want to go on a suicide mission? Not only that, but who wants to go on a suicide mission with _me_?

Jack, Alec, Carina, Sydney, Casey, Sarah, and even Chuck was trained for missions like this. But Vanessa? Christian? Even Ouida couldn't be prepared for such a mission, regardless of how tough she truly was. Maybe it was just me being paranoid and protective of my friends. I couldn't have been sure.

We'd all been through hell these last few days. We'd all killed someone. Not because we'd wanted to. But because our lives depended on it. Ajmina, Kirsty, Lara, Shandana, and John had been put through hell with Caroline.

How could I ask them to join me on another hellish ride? I couldn't. I looked down at the blueprints of the ISSD. We had to stop Revan. "Matt." I looked up at Carina. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that the only way to stop this entire war, is to stop Revan. And who ever he's working for. The first step… is shutting down the Imperial Super Star Destroyer."

"So, how do we do that?" Misha asked. "Oh, no." John walked over. "I'm not letting any of you girls go anywhere. We're going to sit right here and wait for this entire thing to be over."

Ajmina cocked an eyebrow. She couldn't argue with her Father. She felt like shit. She knew she looked like shit after her encounter with Caroline's torture tests. But they had to shut down that ship. They had to stop this entire thing.

"No, Baba." She said, softly. John turned to his daughter. "Mima?" He said in surprise. Ajmina looked down for a moment. "AJ…" I said, "You don't have to. I understand your father's concern. It's probably best you stay here."

"And it's best you stay too, Matt!"

I looked over at her, a sad smile forming on my face. "You still have to find Rebecca, and your family!"

It was my turn to look down now. "I believe the answers lie with Revan, or someone on that ship."

I looked up again, and smiled softly at Ajmina, Misha, and Shandana. "I'll be fine. I need you to stay here and take care of your sisters, and your Dad, and everyone else."

"You can't go up there alone." Shandana said. I looked over at the group of Government agents, then back at my friends. "I'm not."

There was a moment of silence, as AJ glared at me. Then Carrie stepped forward, and looked at the blueprints. "So, exactly what's the plan?"

I looked at her, and then shrugged. "It's simple, actually. We're going to steal a small aircraft, and fly up to the ISSD. Once docked, we're going to split into two teams. One will head to the bridge, and take down Revan. The other will head to the reactor, and rig it to explode."

"Escape plan?"

"A ship of that size always has escape pods." I tapped my finger onto the blueprints, showing the pods. "Both teams will head there, once the reactor's rigged."

"If you aren't dead by then!" We all looked over at the president. He shot me a look. "Why are you forming this plan?" He looked over at the agents. "Why is a civilian forming the plan?"

"Mister president… with all due respect… shut up." Casey said. "Why you…!" Suddenly Jack drew a pistol and pointed it at the President's face. "Mister President. I respect you. But humanity's survival is on the line. I will not hesitate to kill you if it means everyone else lives."

"That's treason and murder!"

"Rules don't apply until this mess is cleaned up. Mister Smith over there, seems to be one of the few in this room who understand that. Now stand down."

The president gave Bauer a glare, but took a step back, saying nothing. "Matthew. I can have Chloe track down a smaller ship to steal, when your ready." He said to me. I nodded. "Good. Thank you." I replied softly.

"Um, pardon me." We all looked over at Tony Stark. "Are you all forgetting that my suit is out there somewhere? It's a danger to you, if you encounter it."

"What's your point?"

"I'll be coming with you. I still have my suitcase armor."

Rhodey blinked. "What about me?"

"You'll meet up with this Chloe O'Brian and become our eyes and ears."

James blinked. "Fine." I nodded. "Great." I pointed at Vanessa. Tim. Christian. Lara, Kirsty, AJ, and both her sisters. "You all go with him."

"Who the fuck died and made you boss?" Kirsty hissed. I just looked at her, unsure of what to say. She was possibly right. What right did I have, saying who could and couldn't risk their lives to save the planet?

I didn't. I sighed, and turned, walking over to the armory cage. "Do what you all want. I refuse to accept anymore blood on my hands. I'm going to stop Revan and find my family." I took out a nine millimeter Beretta Pistol and cocked it. (Dramatics).

"Do you even know how to use that?" Alec asked. I looked over at him, and smiled. Jack sighed. "I'll get Chloe on the aircraft theft. You all have about a half an hour to figure out what's going to happen." He said, and left the room.

I sat with my side facing the mirror, dabbing at the gash with a pad damp with alcohol. It burned like a son of a bitch. It needed to be stitched badly. I finally applied the entire pad of alcohol firmly against the gash, and let out a hiss and closed my eyes, wishing I could vanish.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and I winced. I placed some gauze against it, and placed a large bandage over it. "Come in." I said, pulling on a clean t-shirt. The door opened and Ouida walked in and sat down in a chair behind me. I could tell she caught sight of the bandage as I pulled the shirt down over it.

"Hey." I said softly, looking at her in the mirror. She smiled sadly at the mirror. At me. "So," She started, "Vanessa, Tim, Christian, and John have all decided to remain behind with Rhodey, Chuck, Sarah, and Casey."

I turned the chair around and looked at her. "What about you?"

"You think I'm going to let you go up there into a hell hole by yourself?"

"Bauer's going."

"Whoopee."

I smiled softly. "AJ, Shandana, Misha, Kirsty, and Lara are going?"

"And Carrie."

I cocked an eyebrow. "She's fully intent on getting payback for Mike."

I sighed and nodded slowly. "Fair enough." I leaned forward, and took her hand in mine, sliding my fingers over the top of hers, almost as if I was examining them. Then I looked up into her eyes, and gave another sad smile. "Thank you, Ouida."

She just looked down and nodded. Then the door swung open. Casey rushed in. "You might want to see this…"

I followed Ouida and Casey into the main room, where everyone was gathered around the main big screen. "We received this just a minute ago…" Bauer looked over at me. "It's addressed to you."

I nodded, and Bauer hit a button, causing the face of a man, with slick hair and dark sunglasses. "This video is for one Matthew Smith. I hope you are watching, Mr. Smith. Because if you do not stand down and surrender to our forces, then… well, it's easier to show you."

The screen went dark for a moment, and then the image of a young teenager girl appeared on screen. I stared at her for a moment, as she seemed to be sobbing, but I was unsure due to the lack of sound. "Emily…?"

Suddenly the screen flashed and she appeared closer, sobbing, and she spoke; "Matt… please. Don't listen to them…"

The screen flashed and the man in the sunglasses appeared again. "Mr. Smith, again. I hope you surrender. You and your friends. Because if you don't… I will kill miss Spence."


	22. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty: To Never Lie Again**

I felt my hand curl up into a fist as the screen went black. A million thought raced through my mind. I had to save Emily. But I needed to get a hold of Revan, and find Rebecca, Mom, and Dad. I needed to keep my friends safe. I couldn't do it all.

I glanced over at Jack, who cocked an eyebrow. I gave him what I hoped he would interpret as a 'Take care of them, I'll be back' look, and then turned. "Matt!" I heard Lara call out. I stopped. "They said we all had to surrender."

"They'll get me. Only me. You guys find Rebecca, and my Parents. Save the world. I've got a date with sunglasses."

I walked up the stairs that led outside. "So, that's it?" I looked down at Ouida. "We go through hell, and then you walk out, so they can kill you AND her?"

I blinked. "Who said I was going to let them kill me?" I shook my head. "I'm not going down without a fight. Everyone here knows that. And now so do you." She stepped up the stairs, stopping a few steps from me. "Well, you can't go in without backup."

I looked her in the eye. "It's not going to be easy. We'll have to wing it."

"I can improvise. You know that better then anyone in the room."

I looked down at the group of people who were in the situation with us. All fighting to survive. I looked back up at Ouida. "You don't even know Emily."

"She's a friend of yours. Ours, I mean."

"Sure you don't just want a hug, before I leave?"

She smirked. "Save the hug for after we save the world."

"Fair enough."

Tony Stark – rather – Iron Man, stomped forward, clearing a path for Jack, Alec, Carina, Lara, Kirsty, Shandana, Misha, and Ajmina, as they rushed forward, armed with assault rifles and shotguns. They ducked down behind a wrecked car, as Tony rushed out, firing his missiles, taking out several enemy fighters and random robots.

Jack peered out, and saw the small shuttle they were about to steal. "Alright. You're all clear folks." Tony said, blasting one last battle droid in the face, causing it to scream out before hitting the ground. Jack nodded to the other six people with him, and he stood scanning the area for enemies, before they all advanced for the ship.

Rhodey opened up a sewer manhole, and peered down inside. He glanced up at Sydney. She looked at him. "Ladies first?" He said. Sydney rolled her eyes. It was a short climb down, but the smell once she hit the bottom was enough to make her gasp for air and cough, almost testing her gag reflex.

"O'Brian. This is James Rhodes. We're in the tunnels. What's your next set of instructions?"

"James. Proceed straight down until you reach a 'Y' intersection, and proceed to the right. Follow it down, about 30 feet, and take the ladder up to the street. You'll come right up outside the building. I'm in an underground bunker located under the building. It's only accessible from inside."

"Come that. Rhodes out."

He looked at Sydney, John, Vanessa, Tim, Sarah, Chuck, Casey and Christian. They were all flustered by the smell. Carrie however, held her pistol, looking on edge. "Hey." He hissed at her. She looked over at him, releasing a bit of her tense grip on the gun. "What?"

"You okay?"

"Fine…"

"You sure?" Vanessa asked. Carrie pursed her lips. "You all sure about this? Is Matt and Ouida going to be okay?"

"Matt seems to be a smart guy. And Ouida isn't at all lower in IQ from what I can tell. They'll be fine, I'm sure."

We walked, side by side, out into the war zone we called California. Everything was quiet. The sun was now preparing to go down again – another day was gone. We stopped in the middle of the street, surveying the scene;

Vehicles lay around us, in ruins, flames. Trash was all over hell. Buildings were destroyed. You could see smoke pouring up into the sky in the distance. I looked over at Ouida. Then we heard it. A growling sound. It was Ouida's turn to look at me. Suddenly a ship appeared overhead.

"Trandoshan drop ship." I murmured to Ouida, and she simply nodded. I hit a small device in my pant pocket. Ouida did the same, as Trandoshans began to repel down from the ship, and surround us. "Don't move, wet skins!" One hissed. "Chairman Wesker is waiting for you."

"Fabulous. However, I'm not very pleased with the service of the transport. You guys took forever to get here!"

Suddenly one of the trandos smashed it's repeater blaster into the side of my face. I stumbled away slight. "Matt!"

I held up my hands, putting Ouida at ease. "It's fine…" I murmured, touching the side of my temple, and drawing blood onto my finger tips.

"Get on!" The trandos hissed, as the ship touched down. I looked at the ship, and sighed, Ouida moved over next to me, and I grabbed her hand in mine. We exchanged one last look, before we were shoved onto the ship. The boarding ramp lifted up and closed.

"I sure hope someone knows how to fly this damn thing. Because I don't read alien."

Alec stared down at the control panel for the shuttle, and then looked up at the team. Misha walked over, and looked down at it. "Oh, this looks fun…" She hit a button, and suddenly the boarding ramp lifted up, sealing the ship. Alec glanced over at Carina, who simply shrugged. "I think we have a pilot."

"Indeed."

Misha smirked, as she sat down in the pilot's seat. "Everyone strap in. It might be a bumpy ride."

Kirsty sat down in the co-pilot's seat. She hit a few buttons of her own. Misha looked over at her, a sloppy smirk on her face. Kirsty returned it. "System checks. Don't leave home with out 'em."

The ship rocketed toward the massive Imperial Super Star Destroyer. Jack and Ajmina peered out the front viewport, at the massive hull. "Alright, people. We're preparing to dock."

Jack nodded, and turned to Tony, who simply nodded. "I've got you all covered."

Jack nodded back and turned to Carina. "You take Tony, Lara, and Kirsty and shut down the reactors. I'll take Alec, Ajmina, Misha, and Shandana to the bridge."

"I think that's an unwise decision. You'll need more experienced agents to handle to enemies. A simple explosives job can be handled by the others."

"Don't argue with me. Just do it."

Carina shot Alec a look, and he nodded. Suddenly the ship rumbled. "Docking complete." Misha announced. Suddenly the outer docking door hissed, as something opened it. Tony activated his armor, and it grew across and around his entire body, until only his face was showing. Two SBDs stepped onto the shuttle and shouted, "Halt!"

Tony simply nodded, and suddenly his helmet closed, and he fired off his palm blasters (Dunno exactly what their called, excuse me!), sending both droids flying clear of the door. "That's always fun!" Tony remarked, rushing through the docking door. Jack waved to everyone, and they all rushed after Tony.

The door slid open, revealing a brightly lit white room, with a long white table in the center. At the end of the table, the familiar looking man in sunglasses sat, a blank look on his face. His hands were placed neatly on the table. The lead Trandoshan shoved Ouida and I inside, and Sunglasses stood, his hands still placed neatly on the empty white table.

"Mister Smith. Miss Brown. So glad you could join me. However… I did specify that your entire group had to surrender, did I not?"

He waved a hand to the Trando and it turned and left, the door sliding closed behind it. "I don't believe I caught your name…" I said. The man smiled now. "Albert Wesker. I'm the head chairman of the Umbrella Corporation. We speci-."

I cut him off. "Well, Wesker. With all due respect, I was not about to give up my friends." I glanced over at Ouida. "Hell, if I'd had my way, I'd be the only one standing here in front of you."

"You do know that the consequence is Miss Spence's death, right?"

"Actually, I was thinking otherwise." I moved over to the nearest chair, and took a seat. Ouida followed my lead. Wesker's smile had vanished, as he took his seat. "Who are you working for?"

If he'd been shocked by my frankness, it didn't show. "Matthew, I'm not sure you understand what is about to happen…"

"I don't think you understand either." Ouida said.

Carina dropped the bag of explosives on the ground, and tossed a charge to each person, with the exception of Tony, who was guarding the door. There was another blast and the now familiar sound of battle droids dying.

"Set the charges for 30 seconds."

"30?" Lara asked, "Isn't that a bit short?"

"They'll be activated by remote."

"Oh. Great."

Meanwhile, Jack led the charge toward the bridge. It had been quiet up till now. "This must be where most of the security is at!" Jack shouted to Alec, Ajmina and her sisters. Misha rolled her eyes. "Of course it is! They saw us board the ship ya know!" Blaster fire hit the wall just above Shandana's head, and she winced from the close quarters.

"This is madness!"

Misha let out a whoop as she fired off her weapon, taking out a droid. "This is madness! This is war!"

Suddenly the strange sound of rolling metal was heard, and Jack looked down the hall and saw strange balls of metal with blaster cannons as hands stop. A strange energy shield deployed and the bullets became useless against them.

"Shit!"

"Watch it!" AJ hissed, yanking Jack down to his knees as a blue beam came down through the ceiling. It began to move around, until it formed a complete circle.

Before any of them could react, a large circle of the ceiling fell down, and a blue skinned being dropped down through the ceiling. The being was down on her knees, hand pressed to the floor, eyes closed. A light blue force of energy began to form, and suddenly shot out, sending all the droids in the area flying.

"What the fuck?" Alec muttered. The being stood, and bowed before them. "Aayla Secura, Jedi Master at your service."

Suddenly there was a loud shout at the end of the hall. "AJ? Guys? Who…" Kirsty stopped in midsentence. "Secura…"

Jack looked down at Carina, wide-eyed. "Blow the charges!"

She flipped the switch, and suddenly the entire ship shuddered, and then the lights went out, leaving the group in darkness.

Wesker was blank again, as he looked in Ouida's direction. "Check on the…" She glanced over at me. "Imperial Super Star Destroyer." I said, helping her with her Star Wars vocabulary. "Right," She said, "That. It might be experiencing some… difficulty with it's reactors."

Wesker pressed a button on the table, and a holo screen appeared in front of him. He pressed a few more buttons and suddenly the ISSD appeared on the screen, unmoving and dark. "What… Did… You do?"

I stood, as he did, and I held my hand down to Ouida, indicating to her that she needed to hold her ground. She was unmoving. "Like I said, I had other things in mind."

"Trandoshans! Remove them! Take them to their cells with the other one!" The door slid open and the Trandos ran in, and put us restraints. "You might want to rethink this entire thing, Wesker! Because until I know all my friends and family are safe, I won't stop!" I shouted, as the trandos shoved us through the door.

It closed, leaving Wesker alone, with his dark anger.


	23. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty One: Broken Hell**

The only light in the ship was from the tactical lights on the guns that Jack, Alec, Carina and AJ held, Tony's suit, and Aayla's light saber. "Who the hell are you?" Jack asked her. Aayla sighed. "My name is Aayla Secura. I am a Jedi Master, sent here to stop the taking your planet – and universe."

"Where did you come from? What… are you?"

Misha punched Jack in the arm. "She's a damn Twi'lek. A very powerful one too. And she's on our side. So, let's take down the blast doors over there, and get the baddies, shall we?"

"No. I'm not sure if I can tru-."

"Dude, shut the fuck up! We've got a job to do. Matt is counting on us. So is Ouida!"

Everyone looked over at Lara. She smiled sheepishly. "Please?"

"How do we get in? The place is sealed. Power's out."

"Leave that to me!" Everyone looked over, at the blast doors, as they aimed their lights at four more men, in heavy military armor. "Who the hell are these guys?"

"Violet 2445." Said the soldier with the glowing metallic silver and purple armor.

"Violet 2156." Spoke the soldier with the glowing sliver and white armor.

"Violet 2367." Announced the third one, with gold armor. Suddenly a fourth man stepped into the group. "Violet 2375." He wore Silver and Blue Metallic armor.

"Violet? A little gay, isn't it?" Shandana asked.

Suddenly there was a massive blast directly behind the four soldiers, and the blast doors slid open, revealing a dark bridge. "Gay, isn't the word I'd use, to describe my Squad." 56 said. Suddenly all four soldiers turned, switched on headlamps on their helmets, and then rushed into the darkness of the bridge.

"I wouldn't…" Carina started, but they were already gone. "Let's go in." Jack said, and waved to everyone to follow him. As they all reached the door, Jack stopped, as a device sounded off. He took it out, and looked at it. "Shit."

"What is it?" Kirsty asked. He looked at her. "Matt and Ouida just activated their ETDs."

"ETDs?" Shandana asked. "Emergency Tracking Devices. I gave them each one in case things went south."

No one spoke a word, and Jack looked up and eyed everyone. He put a finger to his ear. "Chloe?"

"Go Jack."

"Do we have a reading on Matthew and Ouida?"

"Tracking is still operational. However…"

"What is it?"

"This is showing that they're in… Antarctica."

"What the hell? How?"

"They might have been picked up by a ship of some sort. It's the only way…"

"Alright." He looked over at Carina and Alec. "Take Misha and Kirsty. Go get those two and his friend."

They just nodded, when there was a crash. Everyone looked down as all four soldiers flew out of the bridge and hit the floor at Jack's feet. He looked up, as another Iron Suit walked out of the bridge. "Uh-oh." Tony muttered from behind the group, and his helmet closed, and he fired a blast from his palm cannons, into the other Iron man, sending him flying backward into the dark bridge. Tony raced forward past everyone. Alec rushed over, and nodded to Misha, Kirsty, and Carina. They all took off for the shuttle they'd used to get there to begin with.

As Tony reached the bridge doorway, the other Iron man came in from the side, and swing it's fist into Tony's chest plate hard, sending Tony to the ground. In response, Tony fired a blast from each palm, throwing the new Iron man into the ceiling.

"Now I'm mad!"

As Jack struggled to take in the entire situation, lights came on around them. The emergency systems. And then he found himself face first into the floor. A female's voice laughed. "Jack. I am so very disappointed in you!"

"Caroline!" He started to get up, only to be kicked in the side, sending him into the wall. Caroline walked around him, smirking. "You are a sad little man. Off your game, dontcha think?"

Suddenly Caroline met the floor as well. "Bitch!" Ajmina hissed, holding a large pipe in her hands.

There was a crash as the second Iron Man dropped from the ceiling. He stood and moved over to Tony, grabbing him by his neck plate, and lifting him up close to his face. The Iron man helmet opened, and Tony gasped from behind his helmet.

"Hower!"

"Hiya, Tony."

Stark started to move his palm up, but David put his own palm blaster to Tony's chest core. "I wouldn't."

Caroline turned and looked up at Ajmina, when blast doors from all ends of the corridors opened and droids ran up, aiming their blasters at them. "Drop it!" One droid yelled. The droidika that rolled up made her think twice before trying any super rescue attempt. She dropped the pipe.

"Get their weapons."

Violet Squad got to their feet, dropping their weapons. A battle droid walked up and ripped Shandana's pistol from her hand, and she hissed at it. "Bitch of a robot."

"Watch it, little girl!" It's electronic voice yelled, pointing a metal finger at her. Aayla stood in the middle of the mess. She turned and looked down the corridor, where two dark robed figures stood. "Revan. Who's your friend?"

"Secura. You should have stayed out of this. It's not your fight."

"You are destroying innocents. That makes it my fight."

"Enough!" The second figure stepped forward, and dropped it's hood. "Clymore?"

"Ah, Secura. You never disappoint." He said. Then he shrugged. "I'm bored of this game."

He turned. "Kill them all." He took a few steps. "And record it for Smith and Brown. I want them to see what I'm capable of."

He then vanished into the shadows. Revan stepped forward, and glared at Aayla. She turned and looked over at Jack and Ajmina. "Run! For the escape pods! Go!" Ajmina was on her feet. She grabbed Shandana and Lara's hands and they took off, through the pack of battle droids, who's programming was slow to react.

There was a bright flash and a loud boom as Tony blasted David in the face, and jumped to his feet. Revan slapped both of his hands together, and suddenly a blue energy field opened behind Tony, and a large suction like wind began to pull him in. Aayla closed her eyes, and dropped to her right knee, as she waited.

"Tony! NO!" Jack was on his feet, only to be sucker punched by Caroline. She picked him up by his collar and slammed him into the wall as Tony vanished into the energy field, which suddenly closed. "Face it Jack. You lose."

"Go to hell!"

"We're already there. A broken hell." Suddenly she rammed her elbow hard into his right cheek, and then jammed her knee into his groin, and spun him around, before grabbing his face and twisting hard, until there was a sudden snapping sound. She released him and he fell to the ground, unmoving.

Violet Squad raced past her, but not before 75 stopped, smashing into her. "You better hope I don't see you again." He hissed. They rounded the corner and saw Ajmina, Shandana, and Lara pinned by four battle droids. The commandos blasted the droids and ran up.

"Get in the pods. We'll cover you." 56 said, as the sound of Droidikas approaching echoed through the corridor. AJ opened the pod and made Lara and Shandana get in. She looked over at the commandos. "Let's go, boys!"

"Get in!" 45 yelled. "Not without you!"

67 walked over and pushed AJ into the pod, and closed the hatch. She rushed forward and hit the hatch, to no avail. There was the sound of heavy blaster fire, and shouting. Suddenly the pod was ejected from the outside.

Carina Evans stood behind Misha's pilot seat as she flew towards Matt and Ouida's last known location, according to their tracking devices. "There!" Kirsty pointed to a small compound. "That must be where they're at!"

Carina leaned in and looked down at the small compound. She glanced over at Alec, who was peering over her shoulder. "Do a complete scan on the structure." Misha looked over the control panel, and cocked an eyebrow, and looked over at Kirsty. "Whatcha think?"

"Try that one."

"Alright." Misha pushed a switch and Kirsty hit another, and a hologram image of a massive structure underground the smaller structure on top appeared. Carina nodded. "Does this thing do heat scanning?"

"Sure, why not…"

As Misha activated a switch, the holo image of the facility literally heated up with small red dots all over it. There were about 15 dozen red heat signatures in the facility. "There." Alec pointed to three signatures in the lower levels of the facility. "That has to be them, if they're being held."

Misha and Kirsty landed the ship a few yards away from the small structure. Carina and Alec strapped on their assault rifles, and secured their pistols. They both turned to Kirsty and Misha. "Stay here."

"Excuse me?" Misha asked, bolting to her feet. "Bauer sent us along for a reason."

Alec nodded in agreement. "Yeah. To fly the ship. Let us handle the hard part."

"Those are our friends. We're coming."

"Uh, no. Discussion over." The two federal agents moved down the boarding ramp and toward the structure. Misha looked over at Kirsty, who just cocked an eyebrow.

I stood in front of the cell doors, pacing back and forth. I didn't say a word. Just paced. I was trying to figure out what to do next. We'd activated our ETDs. Jack should know we're in trouble by now. I just hoped he wasn't in a similar situation. I paced again, and looked over at Ouida. She was sat down on the ground, back leaning against the wall, her eyes on me.

I sighed and walked over. That was it. We could only wait. It had been several hours already. We'd seen no sign of Emily anywhere. I sat down next to Ouida, and ran my hand through my hair. "Could be worse."

"How so?" I asked her, glancing over. "They could sentence us to death. STAT."

There was footsteps from down the hall. "Get them."

Guards appeared at the cell door. "Stand, vermin!"

"Great. Now I feel like we're in the castle age." I muttered, as we both stood. The cell opened, and multiple guards rushed in, forcing us to turn around, and drop to our knees. Then the familiar voice of Chairman Wesker broke the silence.

"Mister Smith. Miss Brown. You came to me, in an attempt to partially honor a deal I presented to you, and yet, you broke it off entirely, with a proposition of your own kind. I do not negotiate with your kind. When I present an offer, it is not to be refused without penalty."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did we hurt your feelings?" I glanced over at Ouida, and she just smirked as a guard belted her with his hand. Wesker chuckled. "I'm sentencing you to be put to death. As of… now."

There was a pause. "Kill them both. And the other one as well." _She__is__here._"Well, Matt. What now?"

I closed my eyes, thinking the same thing. I shrugged. "Wing it."

"What?"

Suddenly gunshots came from down the hall. The two guards in the cell with us, turned to the sound. I rotated my body, and slid my left leg around, knocking the guard behind me down. I saw Ouida jump to her feet and rear up into the guard behind her, as he turned to fire at me.

I scrambled around and snatched up the pistol from my guard as Ouida ran her guard into the jail bars. The gun fell from his hand, and Ouida ran her right elbow into his side, and turned, following with a hard right to left jab into his face, knocking him unconscious.

I nodded approvingly. She just nodded as she checked the pistol she retrieved from the ground. Suddenly there were footsteps again, this time running toward the cell. Ouida and I turned, aiming the pistols at Alec and Carina. "Come on!" Alec said.

We followed them out into the hall, but I stopped. "We can't leave. I haven't found Emily."

"We don't have time." Carina said.

"Then you get the transport ready. We'll be out in a minute."

"You are coming with us! No if, ands, or, buts about it!"

"BUT, that's what we came here for to begin with. I'm not leaving without completing the mission." I turned, at the sound of a girl's scream. I shot a look over at Alec, and then took off running toward the sound.

I found one door, and started for it, when a hand on my shoulder stopped me. "I'm with you." Ouida said. I sighed and nodded. "She's in there."

"Let's do it."

The doors flew open, and Wesker stumbled away, dragging Emily with him. "You foolish children!"

"Drop her!" I shouted. "It's over!"

"You wish it was!" He shoved Emily forward, and she dropped to the ground. Neither Ouida or I hesitated. We both open fired on Wesker, who jumped from spot to spot around the room, destroying the space we had on him, until he was right on top of us. He leapt up and knocked us down, before turning, and moving down the hall.

"Shit!" I was on my feet in a second. I helped Ouida up, and rushed over to Emily. She stood, brushing herself off. "You okay?"

"It took you long enough, Matt!"

I blinked, and looked over at Ouida, who just shrugged. "I saw you both on TV. Mom's going to kick your asses for getting into trouble."

"Glad to hear it. It's time to go." I said, as Alec and Carina raced past the doorway, in the direction of Wesker. "Guys, NO!"

It was too late. There was the sound of a sickening slap of skin upon skin. I looked over at Ouida and Emily, stood slowly, and moved toward the doorway slowly, gripping the gun tightly with both hands, almost… doing a dance – swaying back and forth as I moved. I reached the doorway, and peered out to find Wesker standing in the middle of the hall, Alec and Carina on either side of him, a gun pointed at either of their heads.

"Step out."

I closed my eyes as I leaned back against the door frame.

"Step out, or I kill them both."

I felt my stomach turn over twice, and I almost vomited, before I moved out into the middle of the hallway, facing Wesker. I held the gun up, aiming it at his head, knowing it made no difference.

"You have to know, I can't let you kill them, right?"

Wesker smirked. "Tell the other two to get out here," He paused. "Now."

Before I could react, Ouida and Emily stepped out, with Ouida aiming her pistol at Wesker as well.

"Good… Now I can kill you all without needing to know where you are hiding."

Suddenly the door behind him opened, and Wesker turned, startled, kicking Carina into Misha and Kirsty, before grabbing Alec and throwing him into Ouida, Emily, and I. We all fell, like bowling pins. I scrambled to my knees, just in time to see Wesker scramble past a fallen Misha and Kirsty, and stepped onto an elevator at the end of the corridor.

"Good luck!" He shouted, activating something from inside the elevator, as I picked up my pistol and fired off the entire clip, as the elevator doors closed, leaving him unharmed and good for escape.

Then the alarms sounded, and the electronic female voice announced; "Warning. The Self Destruct System as been activated. All Personnel must evacuate with-in 30 minutes. Lock-down will occur in approximately 15 minutes."

"Uh-oh." Misha muttered.

I glanced around, and Alec rushed over to the wall, and opened a control panel. "What is it?" Carina asked. "I'm trying to get that elevator back ASAP."

"Stairs, anyone?"

"There are no stairwells around here. We're about 20 miles underground. The only way in or out was that elevator."

I glanced around at Carina, Ouida, Emily, Misha, and Kirsty.

We were in trouble.


	24. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty Two: Oh, Switch Off!**

The wires touched and sparks flew. Alec jumped back, and then cursed. "He's long gone."

"We have five minutes to get the hell out before lock down occurs." Carina muttered. Misha rushed over to a computer console, and began to type. I moved over next to her, and peered over her shoulder. "What is happening?"

"Well, let me see. We're about to be locked in an underground facility, that is about to blow up."

I looked at her, and she shrugged. "You asked me what was happening."

She typed more rapidly. "There it is."

"What is?" Emily asked.

"Camera feeds."

She hit another key, and an image of the elevators at the front entrance on the surface appeared. Wesker stepped out of the elevator. "Damn. He's getting away."

Misha smirked. "Relax."

She brought up a command console on the computer, and began to type again. "Where… are… you? THERE!"

She continued to type.

"Warning. The Self Destruct System as been activated. Lock-down will occur in approximately 5 minutes."

"I'm getting sick of that voice…" I muttered.

There was a loud crash, as the lights went off, and the emergency lights came on, covering the entire facility in red. "What the fuck was that?" Kirsty hissed. A sick moaning sound was heard from behind a nearby door. Carina, Alec, and Kirsty drew weapons on the door, as something crashed into it.

I pulled Emily close, and looked over at Misha. "Don't suppose you could shut down this Self Destruct and get the elevator back…?"

"Of course. Don't rush me though. No one ever gets results by rushing me…"

Suddenly the door came open, and a dozen people stumbled through, hissing and moaning in our direction. I turned and drew my pistol and fired into one of their heads. "Shoot them! Aim for the heads!"

Carina and Alec didn't hesitate, and open fired. Kirsty fired off a shot, hitting one in the shoulder, and then fired another shot, finishing the zombie. But with every zombie we killed, four more took it's place.

Suddenly the lights came back on, and it was clear we were out numbered. Alec and Carina fired their submachine guns into the crowd of undead. "Misha! Now would be great…"

"Okay. That's it! Matthew! I told you not to rush me!"

She hit a button and suddenly the elevator doors opened up. Alec waved his hand. "Everyone on! NOW!"

We all backed onto the elevator, firing at the zombies that scuffed toward us. Emily hit the button to take us to the top. As the doors closed, Misha leaned against the elevator wall, breathing heavily. I walked over to her, and pulled her into a hug. "Great job." I said.

She just chuckled. "I feel sick, now."

The elevator doors opened up, and Alec and Carina moved out first, SMGs ready for anything. They moved through the only door, and found themselves standing in the middle of a massive field.

There was a flash in the sky. Alec and Carina looked up, aiming their weapons, as a small round craft slammed into the ground, sliding, digging deep into the soil, sending dirt into the air, before stopping just short of Alec and Carina. I rushed out, with Misha, Emily, and Kirsty close behind.

"What the hell was that?"

Suddenly the hatch to the pod opened, and through the smoke, dirt, and dust, stepped out Ajmina, Lara, and Shandana. "What the fuck are you doing here?" I blurted. AJ smirked. "Great to see you too."

Suddenly the ground rumbled violently. I looked down and noted a strange cracking in the surface. But it was an almost perfect crack. "Everyone, get back near the elevator." I said. No one argued, and we stepped back, as the entire field parted into four quarters, and a platform rose up, with Wesker standing in the middle of it.

"It's going to really suck to be you!" He shouted, and activated a button, causing more platforms to rise up, to ground level only. On every one of those platforms, were at least a dozen zombies. I looked over at Alec, and he nodded. "He's right. This really sucks."

AJ shrugged. "Whoopee-do." She muttered. Suddenly there was an explosion in the middle of a group of zombies, sending most of them flying. We all looked up, and saw War Machine, flying toward us. Several ATVs were rolling toward them at a high rate of speed.

"It's about to suck for him!"

We looked up at Wesker, who was climbing up on a ladder attached to a helicopter. "That's a damn shame." We all looked over at Casey, who walked up next to us, with Sarah, Chuck, Sydney, and Carrie. I felt someone bump against my shoulder, and looked over. Ouida glared up at Wesker. Then she looked over at me, and pulled me into a hug. I gave her a squeeze. "I'm glad you're okay!"

"And I'm glad you are still alive."

I gave her a smile. "It's me." There was an explosion, and the chopper began to spin out of control.

Casey opened several different cases, revealing a collection of weaponry. "Load up. I have a feeling we're going to need the fire power." Rhodey landed behind every. "He shouldn't get to far before we head out after him."

"Let's hope not. I want a word with him." I said, loading a pistol into a holster.

Casey drove the ATV at full speed across the field, which we abandoned as we approached the edge of the clearing, and entered the woods. It wasn't too thick, as we raced through them on foot, in pursuit of Wesker.

As we reached the end of the woods, we saw another clearing, this one however, smaller then the last, which had been the size of a lake. In the center of the clearing, was another facility. To the left edge of the clearing, was a chopper with the Umbrella Corporation on the side, sitting on a helipad.

Upon closer observation of the facility itself, it appeared there was only one way in, and one way out. "What the hell is this place?"

"I don't know," Replied Casey, "but I don't like it."

"Does anyone sense a trap here?" Chuck said, "I mean, has anyone seen Return of the Jedi? The battle of Endor? Han and the squad were ambushed after they-" Casey gave off a loud grunt, and shot Chuck a look, to which Chuck simply nodded, and stopped talking.

"Alright. Let's go." Casey announced. We moved out of the woods, and down to the only door that led into the facility. Inside the facility, in a security control room, we could be seen approaching the door via a security camera, in the upper right hand corner of the doorway.

I stood to the side, as Carina examined the door, and came to one conclusion. "It's locked." Casey grunted. "We know that. How do we get it open?"

"Well…"

Suddenly the light overhead flickered. "We could blow it open. Anyone got any explosives on them?"

Then there was the wining of gears and the door slid up into the roof slowly, revealing a dark corridor inside. "Or we could just knock." Chuck suggested, as Casey and Alec entered the building, clearing the corridor.

As we moved in, the door slid shut, and a loud clicking sound was heard. We were now locked in. "I have a bad feeling about this…" I muttered. "No joke." Carrie muttered. Suddenly a light came on at the end of the corridor, from inside a room. Only a window was visible. The entrance to it, was somewhere else; but inside the room, stood Wesker. A cocky grin was plastered on his lips.

"Alright. This is the end for you, buddy!" Casey hissed. "Hmm. I think not, my military friend." Wesker replied, as-a-matter-of-fact. "You see. Far below us, is the central base, where we are creating the ultimate soldier. The first batch just finished, and I'm just dying to see how well they do in combat."

Suddenly the light flickered off and then on, twice. "Very cute." Wesker said, annoyed. Suddenly the lights went out completely, and for a full ten seconds, remained that way, when suddenly they flashed back on.

I felt a chill crawl down my spine, from the sight of the little girl in a red dress, standing behind Wesker.

"What the hell?" Casey muttered. I grabbed Ouida's hand, and she squeezed mine. "I think, that you have a problem, Chairman." Alec hissed. Wesker just snickered. "Shut up. You are about to be tested."

Suddenly the lights went out again, and there was only silence. Until the lights flashed back on, revealing Wesker hovering in the air, the little girl now standing to Wesker's left, looking up at him. The lights flashed again, and Wesker was suddenly spinning. "What? NO! NO! NOT NOW!"

There was the sickening sound of flesh being torn apart, and blood splattered against walls, floors, and ceilings. The lights flashed again, and Wesker was all over the room. The little girl just stood there, staring at us, and giggled, before the lights flashed one final time, and she vanished.

A door to our right opened, and a man walked out, and chuckled. "I warned them. I warned you all. But now, it's too late. You must face the fact that none of you are leaving this place alive. She. Won't. Allow it."

Suddenly the man dissipated into the air, leaving in our group – Chuck, Sarah, Casey. Alec and Carina. Rhodey. Kirsty. Lara. Emily. Carrie. Ouida. Misha. Shandana. Ajmina, and Sydney – standing in the dark corridor.

"Now what?" Chuck asked. I clenched my jaw. "We have to destroy the factory. Those super soldiers must be shut down."

Suddenly pressurized air began to shoot down at us from multiple spots in the ceiling, and we jumped back in different directions. "What the hell?"

Suddenly a blue laser appeared in front of me. I froze. "Don't move!" Alec said. "No shit, dude." Suddenly I wobbled slightly, and my pant leg barely touched the laser, and it seared it. I took a step back, and looked over at Ouida, Emily, Lara, Kirsty, AJ, Misha and Shandana. We were cut off from the others. Suddenly more lasers appeared, and we stepped back, until we hit the window, that looked into Wesker's room. "Guys, hang on! We'll get you out!" I heard Sydney scream. Suddenly to the left and right, lights came on, revealing two hidden corridors.

"That's fucking fabulous. We'll be waiting!" Shouted Misha.


	25. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty Three: Labyrinth**

"Which way?" Kirsty asked. I looked to the left, and then down to the right of our position. There was only the two choices.

"What if it's a trap?" Shandana asked.

"Chances are, left is a trap." AJ muttered.

"Yeah, and right is always the way to go." Misha spat.

I closed my eyes. I couldn't handle it. This. This, situation. What exactly just happened? Wesker had been killed by… a little girl? Any normal person would have gone mad by just the thought. It was impossible. Yet, it had happened. And I wasn't any normal person. None of us were.

We'd all been through hell. Death seemed to follow us everywhere we went. And to make matters worse, the only allies we'd had, were now cut off from us, leaving us on our own. I felt a hand touch mine. I looked over at Ouida, who just nodded. I sighed. "Come on, guys. We're going left."

"Um…" Shandana murmured.

"Unless you want to split up."

"Coming!"

I held up my pistol, and stepped up next to the corner, and peered around it. All I could see was a brightly lit corridor. I held up two fingers as one and waved them forward, and moved into the corridor.

As we moved down it, I couldn't help but notice the camera at the end come on. "We're being watched." I murmured. No one said anything, as we moved down past the camera, where the corridor curved around to the right, merging up with the corridor to the right. As we followed the now single hall down, we came to the end, where there was a single steel door. There was a code key next to it, and up in the right hand corner, was another camera.

I looked at the code key. The buttons were simple. One through nine, the pound and star key. As I reached to enter a random code, there was a loud whirling sound coming from within the door. It was as if latches were being undone. Suddenly the door slid opened. Everyone looked over at me, as I stared into the dark of the room.

I felt my heart racing. I felt dizzy suddenly. I closed my eyes and let out a breath and sucked it back in again, as my stomach turned. "You okay?" I heard Kirsty ask. I swallowed and nodded slowly. Then I took a step forward into the darkness.

I heard everyone else file in behind me. Suddenly the door slid shut, and the entire room was flooded in more bright white light, revealing a massive circular room, almost like an arena. "What the fuck…?"

"Welcome." A voice from the center of the room said.

"Who's that?" AJ asked. Suddenly the lights in the center of the room came on, revealing Caroline Kuhne, David Hower, Darth Revan, and a few battle droids. In the front of them sat on their knees, Aayla Secura, Violet Squad, Alec Weston, Carina Evans, Casey, Sarah, Chuck, Rhodey, Vanessa, Christian, Tim, John White, Chloe O'Brian, Carrie Underwood, Fox Mulder, and Dana Scully. Everyone whom had assisted them, or had been on their side, was down on their knees, a battle droid squad behind them.

And in front of them, stood a lone figure.

"Jesus." I breath.

"I, uh, don't think he can help us." Lara murmured.

"Matthew Smith. Ajmina Khan. Misha Khan. Shandana Khan. Emily Spence. Lara Hall. Kirsty Harrington. Ouida Brown."

"How the fuck does he know our names?" Shandana asked. I gritted my teeth. "Gee, why don't we ask him?" I stepped forward, and let out a shout. "How the hell do you know our names? Who the fuck are you?"

"My name; is Clymore. I am the leading General on the take over of your planet." I blinked. "He gave us that line way to easily." Ouida muttered. I nodded. "Why are you taking our planet?"

"Simple. You don't deserve it anymore."

"And who made you God?"

"No one. I took the position. Now. I'm going to give you the entire story, followed by your options. Listen closely. I will only go over this once."

He paused, waiting for objections. We just looked down at him. He started.

"Over the millions of years that the planet Earth has been here, we have finally taken it for granted. The pollution. The oil. The hell that you are seeing now; You created it. I am here to see an end to it all."

"You really think that we're just going to stand here and let you…"

"That brings me," Clymore said, cutting me off, "To your options." He smiled. "Join me, and you will remain alive."

We waited. "What about our other options?"

Clymore chuckled. "I forgot to inform you. I don't have any other options for you. Because if you don't join me, you will perish. Regardless of if you simply stand aside, or stand and fight, you will still perish."

"And if we join you, will they be allowed to live?" I asked, indicating the friends on the floor. Clymore smiled. "No. They will stop at nothing to shut down my plans. They will be killed regardless."

I closed my eyes. "Before you make your choice. I would like to mention, that, I have foreseen your future. Your… destiny."

"And what might it be?"

"I'll leave it at this; it's not good for you. Or those close to you."

Clymore turned, and started away. "Kill them." He whispered to Caroline. "You are to be the only one who returns, understand?" Caroline smiled, and nodded. Then General Clymore left the room. And Caroline waved to the droids. "Kill them." She said, activating a button on her wrist computer. The door behind us opened, and we spun around, as several beings approached us.

"Who the hell are these guys?" Misha muttered. Suddenly they all vanished in front of us, and then something slammed into each of us, knocking us down. A loud speaker went off. "I would like to introduce you all to my special soldiers. I trust they will take very good care of you."

I scrambled to my feet, and reached down to my hip for the pistol. As I pulled it out of it's holster, one of the super soldiers appeared and knocked it from my grasp, and threw a punch, knocking me backward.

Across the room, the battle droids marched forward, drawing their blasters and putting them up to their enemy's heads. "Last words?" Hower asked. "Yeah. Perhaps, you should get a new day job. Henchman isn't working for you." Casey hissed. Suddenly he fell forward, and kicked the droid's legs out of under it, causing it to drop it's blaster.

He snatched it up, and blasted the other droids before they could respond. Blame it on their poor programming. As he turned to help up Alec, he felt a strong source of heat plunge through his stomach. He looked down and saw a glowing red blade of energy sticking out of his abdomen. "Casey!" Sarah and Chuck both screamed. Alec snatched up the blaster from Casey as he fell to his knees, and dropped to the ground, unmoving. But as Alec raised the blaster, the red blade came up, slicing the weapon in half, and then quickly followed up with a swift slice into Alec's chest.

Revan turned his head and looked over at Sarah and Chuck, and raised his blade, and brought it down, as Carrie leapt forward, knocking Chuck and Sarah clear from sudden death. Revan did a double take and raised the blade again. As he started to bring it down upon them, he suddenly froze. The three looked past the masked Sith lord at Aayla, who had one arm extended out toward Revan, her eyes focused heavily on him.

She was using the force to keep his blade from moving. Sarah pulled Chuck and Carrie to their feet and they moved away. Carina had grouped up with Sydney, Vanessa, Tim, and John. Mulder was on his feet, and rushing toward Hower, who turned, and fired a blaster from his Iron Man suit's right palm blaster into Fox, sending him backward onto the floor. Scully grabbed Christian, as Caroline ran forward, drawing a sword from her back.

As she leapt forward, blade raised high, Sydney tackled her in mid-air, and they both hit the ground, the sword slid away. They both quickly got to their feet, and was in combat stances. "You can't win." Sydney said. Caroline just smiled. "We'll see about that!" And the two attacked each other furiously. Punches. Kicks. Ducks. Dodges.

As Sydney moved for an offensive attack, Caroline quickly counter-attacked, and dropped Sydney to the ground, and somersaulted over her, swiping the sword up without breaking a sweat. As Sydney got to her feet, Caroline raced forward, making one single slice forward, before stopping in mid-step, her back to Sydney, who stood there, a shocked look on her face. Finally, she dropped to her knees.

I looked over at her, as a super soldier had me pinned on the ground. "Sydney!" I shouted, as she looked down at her abdomen, before collapsing forward onto the ground. There was a loud "oof!" and I knocked the soldier hard in the helmet, and kicked him off me, to find Misha sitting on top of another soldier, bashing her fists into his helmet. A few feet away, Shandana and Ajmina stood back to back, as several super soldiers circled them.

As I scrambled to my feet, the super soldier I'd kicked off me just seconds ago, shouted at me. "Hey, Kid!" I looked over at him, and there was a flash of metal, and I felt a sharp pain spark in my left lower abdomen. I looked down and saw a small knife had been jammed into me. I looked up at him, as the pain made it's way through my body. "What the fuck was that for?" I shouted, the shock rolling through my voice. I reached down, and yanked the blade from my abdomen, and then looked at the soldier, before sprinting toward him with a loud roar.

I leapt up and tackled him, slamming the blade into the side of his neck – the only place where armor was not located. Blood splat from his arteries. But I didn't stop. I jumped to my feet, grabbing the soldier's assault rifle, and turned and open fired on the soldiers who had Shandana and Ajmina surrounded. They went down by their own specialty weapons.

"Matt!"

I turned to Emily's voice, and she was knelt on the ground, pointing across the way. I followed her finger, and saw Ouida pinned against the wall by a super soldier. I rushed over, and grabbed the man by his head, and suddenly twisted, until a faint SNAP sound could be heard. Then I released him onto the ground as Ouida let out a gasp of air that had been restricted from her lungs for that brief time period.

Suddenly I was grabbed from behind, and I saw the glimmer of another knife. I felt my heart rate increase. My breathing deepened. I reached up and stopped the knife and the hand that held it in mid-air, before leaning forward and yanking hard, pulling the man over my back and shoulder, and dropping him on the ground, before plunging his own knife through his helmet, impaling his face.

Suddenly there was a rumble. I stood, as Kirsty, Lara, Misha, and Emily rushed over to the rest of us, to look out at the rest of the arena. It was doing… something. Shape shifting almost. Suddenly a ring of flooring broken away, falling into what seemed like a bottom-less pit, leaving the center of the arena floating alone.

Caroline rushed forward, and Scully threw Christian aside, and prepared for a fight, just as Caroline jumped forward, knocking Scully backward, and she fell over the edge. With a long scream, she fell into the black of the pit. Christian peered over the edge, and then looked back as Caroline swung her sword almost showing off as she paced in front of him, smirking.

There was a heavy clanking sound. David turned and glared at Rhodey, who shook his head. "Stop this madness."

Hower smirked. "Why don't you stop playing around?"

Suddenly he fired several blasts from his palm blasters, before firing off several rockets, sending Rhodey and his war machine flying backward. "I told you to stay out of this! Stark learned his lesson the hard way. Now you will too."

Hower charged up his palm blasters for a brief moment, and blasted Rhodey multiple times, and finished with a satisfied smiled on his face. I looked over at my friends. "We've got to get over there!"

"That gap is too long. You'll never make it." Lara hissed. I looked around. "There has got to be a…"

There was a scream from Vanessa, as Carina ushered her to safety as Caroline moved toward them. I looked around, panicked. Then I saw it. A ladder. It was moving up along the wall, toward the ceiling. Which meant…

"I got it!"

I rushed over to the ladder, and examined it's end. It seemed to lead to a vent opening. "You have got to be kidding me…" Kirsty muttered. I shrugged. "Come on." I started climbing, jumping up the ladder two or three rungs at a time. As I reached the vent, I stopped and popped it open. I peered into the darkness, which suddenly I saw a flash of red, and suddenly the little girl was scrambling toward me.

I felt my heart rate increase rapidly, and I felt my hands slip, and I started to fall backward. "MATT!" I felt for something… anything, as I fell. After all, I was about 100 feet in the air. Suddenly I felt contact, and squeezed onto the hand of Shandana.

"Matt! Hang on!" I felt beads of sweat drip down, stinging my eyes. I looked up, and saw the red-dressed girl peering down at them. "Guys, look out!"

"Shut up! Grab onto the ladder!"

I reached out with my free hand and found my footing on a rung, as the rest of them climbed up into the ventilation. I looked up and the girl was gone. "What the fuck was that?" I muttered to myself. I climbed up into the vent and I followed the group around to the right, which had us staring down a long vent shaft with seemingly no end to it. I looked back, and saw there was no going left. It was just a fast running fan to help the ventilation.

More screams echoed through the shaft. I closed my eyes.

We had to hurry.


	26. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty Four: Steps**

Tim Scott pulled Vanessa behind him, as Christian and Chloe moved up next to them, with John stepping in front of them all. Hower glared at them, almost with a smirk. Only a few feet away, Caroline had Carina, Carrie, Sarah, and Chuck pinned in a corner. And in the center of the platform stood Aayla and Revan, who circled each other. Neither said a word. At the other end of the platform, Violet Squad was lying unconscious.

"I'm going to have fun with this…" Hower said, charging up his palm blasters. He nodded to Vanessa. "I'm going to save you as a play toy for later. You should feel lucky."

"I'll show you lucky!" Tim shouted. He bolted forward, and suddenly there was a blast, and he flew backward, a hole in his chest. He let out one surprised gasp, before he fell unmoving and quiet.

"Foolish. Who's next?"

No one said a word. David just shrugged. "So be it." He blasted Christian to the ground. Then he aimed his palms at Chloe, who turned and ran from the group. Hower smiled. "You can run, but not very far…" There was a blast, and she went down.

Sarah, Chuck, Carina, and Carrie watched Caroline as she swung the blade around in her hands skillfully. "On three…" Carina said, nudging Sarah, who nodded. Chuck blinked. "What?"

"Three."

The two women ran forward, and Caroline spun around, her sword drawing blood from both of them. They quickly fell to the ground, gasping for air. "Sarah!" Chuck screamed, and ran forward – or tried to, as Carrie grabbed his arm, pulling him back, as Caroline smirked over at them. "Come on. Try me. Maybe you'll get farther then they did."

"I swear…"

"What words?" Caroline laughed and she started forward, and Chuck stood in front of Carrie. "I won't let you hurt anyone else."

"Good."

Caroline stopped and waved her hand at Chuck, challenging him.

And he accepted, by rushing forward. Caroline dropped her sword, and stood her ground. It all seemed to go in slow motion now, as Carrie looked on, crying out for Chuck to stop. He dove forward, and Caroline met him at the end, and she pelted him in the chest with an open palm, and he fell backward, as if he'd slipped on a banana peel, and Caroline followed his fall with her palm against his chest, and as he slammed into the ground, Caroline rolled her hand up into a fist, and suddenly a blade extended out of her sleeve, and impaled Chuck through the chest.

In the middle of the platform, blue and red blades clashed, rapidly, until they finally locked together, and Revan stared down at Aayla. "Give up! You can't win."

"This isn't a contest." Suddenly Revan went flying forward, as all of Violet Squad tackled him to the ground. As they piled up on top of him, they all went flying off just as fast. Revan turned and unleashed a fury of force lightning on the squad, before sending them over the edge, about a 100 feet away.

Revan ignited his blade again, and rushed toward Aayla, when suddenly the vent directly above her opened up, and Misha swung out, and kicked her feet into Revan, sending him to the ground. Aayla rushed over, and aimed her blade at his head. "It's over. Surrender your blade."

"It will never be over!" He reached over for his light saber hilt, and activated it, but not before she plunged her own blade into his chest. Across the way, there were several blasts. Misha, AJ, and Shandana looked up, as Vanessa rushed behind them. "Baba!" AJ screamed. John was lying on the ground, gasping for breath as he grabbed at his leg.

Hower turned, and the Iron Mask opened, revealing his face. "I just love a good fight!"

There was a whistle from behind him. He turned, clank-ish in the suit, and I smiled up at him. Suddenly he stumbled backward as I punched him hard in his face, and he suddenly fell over the edge of the platform, with a loud scream. AJ, Misha, and Shandana rushed forward, and dropped down next to their Father. "Baba!" AJ hissed, as he tried to sit up. "I'm fine…"

"You're hurt!" Shandana said. "Hurt, but still breathing." He huffed, as I walked up behind AJ, putting my hand on her shoulder. He looked up at me, and then at his daughters. "You have to stop him. What are you all still standing around moping over me for? GO!"

They all stood, and we turned, and I heard a grunting sound. I stared over, as Ouida and Caroline circled each other. "Oh shit." I breathed. Suddenly Caroline lunged forward, and slapped Ouida, who turned away, touching her lip. She drew blood and turned back to Caroline, with a look of annoyance.

"Is that all you have?" Ouida spat. Caroline just smiled. "I've got more. Just making sure you want to continue, before I kill Underwood over here."

Suddenly Caroline hit the ground face first. "Bitch!" Ouida looked over at Carrie, and they both smirked, as Caroline got to her feet. "Well played. But you have no idea what is coming." Suddenly Caroline threw a kick forward, knocking Carrie backward, rolling over the edge. "NO!" I rushed forward, as Ouida leapt over, and grabbed Carrie's hand.

Caroline took advantage of her distraction, and took off in the path of Clymore. I slid forward on my feet, and dropped down next to Ouida, who seemed to be struggling to hold onto Carrie's hand, which was starting to slip. I reached down, extending my hand to Carrie. "Give me your other hand!"

"I can't!" She cried. I glared. "Yes. Carrie. You can! Give me your hand!"

I watched as multiple tears rolled off her face and fell into the darkness below. I closed my eyes. "I am not joking! I won't let anyone else die! I can't stop them without any of your help! Now give me your god-damn hand!"

Suddenly she started to float up and before we could react, she was standing on the ground behind us. And behind her, stood Aayla. "You have to go. Stop the General and Caroline. Before it's too late."


	27. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty Five: End Game (Part 1)**

I raced down the corridor, at full speed. Beside me, Ouida, AJ, Kirsty, Carrie and Misha tore down the corridor. I felt the cylinder shape of the light saber hilt wave around on my belt. My life seemed to flash before my eyes. A possible death lay just ahead. Not just for me. But for everyone who followed me into the battle.

_I felt Ouida grab my right hand with her left, and she squeezed tightly. "You won't do this alone. You can't. I won't let you."_

"_Nor will I." Kirsty said._

"_And you better count us in too." AJ and Misha stepped forward. I looked over at Aayla. She extended her hand out, and gave me a long cylinder device. "You can not expect to defeat either of them by strength alone."_

"_What about the rest of you?"_

_The room shook. "I've called for reinforcements. We need to get the wounded out, and the young as well."_

"_You know that more soldiers will arrive before the ships get here, right?"_

"_I expect nothing less, and much worse."_

I noted AJ wiping a tear from her eye as she ran. This war had hit home. I could feel her pain, and wanted nothing more then to stop and just hold her, and ease her pain. I let out a breath, and kept moving.

_Shandana stepped forward, with Emily, Lara, and Vanessa. "We'll do our best to hold them off."_

_AJ glanced over at her Father, who lay on the ground, quiet, wounded. If he could be evacuated, he'd live, no problem. But that was the trick. Evacuation wouldn't come soon enough. It was up to them._

_Aayla touched my shoulder. "When you finish it, look deep with-in. The answer to freeing those who have been imprisoned to the darkness, will come to light."_

"_What does that mean? Please. I'm no good at riddles."_

"_Trust in yourselves. Trust in the force."_

I pushed the thought to the back of my mind. I would have to trust in everyone and everything, and that was all there was to the matter. Suddenly I caught sight of someone ahead. "Hey!"

Caroline and Clymore turned, and suddenly the blast doors closed, sealing us off from them, as the wall panels opened, and battle droids were lifted out and became operational. "Oh, wonderful." AJ muttered. I looked up. At the ceiling, and then over at the door.

_Trust in the force. _

_Trust in yourselves…_

I took a breath, and extended my hand out toward the door, and closed my eyes. I felt the humming sound of the lighting over head go silent. The shouting from the girls became void. The battle droid's screams were shut out.

Suddenly I squeezed my hand shut, and the blast door imploded on itself. I opened my eyes, and saw piles of battle droids on the ground. The girls were looking at me. "How the fuck…?" Misha muttered. I gave a sheepish smile, and we took off down the corridor.

Back in the arena, Everyone stood around, listening. There was a slow rumble. It seemed to be coming toward their location too. "What is that?" Shandana asked softly. Aayla stepped up next to her, listening intensely. "It's not help. That's what it isn't."

Suddenly small grains of sand and dirt fell down onto Emily's head. She rubbed her hands through her hair, trying to get it out, when suddenly a large square block of the ceiling fell down next to her. She blinked, and Vanessa snatched her from behind as a group of battle droids landed where she'd been standing.

There were several other crashed. More blocks from the ceiling. The enemy was cutting their way in. Shandana fired off several blasts from her weapon, as more droids repelled down to their level. "Who sent these guys an invite?" Emily screamed, blasting a droid that had landed in front of her.

Aayla had her blue light saber out, and it was a blur of light as she swung it, deflecting blaster bolts and striking down droids as she moved. There was a scream of pain, and Aayla forced all the ceiling blocks up on their sides. "Get to cover!" She screamed, deflecting several blasts with her blade.

Lara dropped down next to Aayla, as a mass of blaster fire erupted in their direction. Droids were forming massive groups and marching in their direction. "How are we going to get out of this one, guys?" Vanessa asked. "I might have a solution…"

Everyone looked over at Lara, who held up a grenade. "Whoa! Where'd you get that from?" Emily asked. "I picked it off one of those super soldiers."

"How's your throwing arm?"

"Okay, I suppose."

"Then throw it!"

Lara looked at them, and then with a deep breath, she grabbed the pin, yanked it hard, rose from her cover, and in a dramatic slow motion scene, threw the grenade, almost like a curve ball. It spun around, and suddenly exploded in mid-air, sending the droids flying.

Vanessa let out a whoop of excitement, as Shandana and Emily looked over at Lara, with huge smiles, as gunships hovered overhead, and clone troopers began to repel down to them.

We stepped into the large room. There was a single dim light in the center. Placed about ten feet away, was an executive desk, with a large, comfy looking chair behind it. In front of the desk, was two gust chairs, of average look and feel to them. The walls and ceiling around us were dark blue, almost… black actually. The floor was of a navy color carpet. Bookshelves lined the wall to our left, and to the right was a few shelves on the wall, next to another door.

There was the faint smell of… perfume. "Anyone else smell that?" I asked softly. Carrie let out a soft cough. "Something isn't right."

"You are right."

We all looked up, as a light came on inside a hidden observation deck. Clymore and Caroline stood, looking down at us. "Now, Caroline, dear. Tell them what is about to happen."

Caroline smiled, with her hands behind her back, she looked down at us. "Well, kiddies. If, the doors are going to lock."

Suddenly heavy blast doors slide in front of the doors, locking us in. "How entertaining! Next, the vents will fill the room with a toxic gas, which, with-in a matter of say, 30 seconds, render you all unconscious."

"You won't get away with this!" Misha cursed.

"However…" Clymore cut her off, "I will give you a chance. A chance to surrender. Join us. A chance to leave now. Walk away. Don't look back. Face the fate that the rest of the human race will."

"I'd rather die!" Carrie hissed. I looked over at her, and she ignored me. "You people can not be serious about what you are about to do! You say you are going to eliminate the human population. But what are you, if not human yourselves? The being who's controlling you, will kill you once you've served your purpose, just as you are going to do to us!"

No one spoke. Clymore and Caroline just stared down at us, almost as if… in awe of Carrie's words. Suddenly I felt a strange sickness. My vision began to blur. I stumbled forward, leaning against the wall, as the two villains moved out of sight. I looked up, and saw the vents. Gas was pouring out of them.

I leaned my back against the wall, and slowly slid down it, before entering a sitting position on the floor. I fell sideways. In front of me, I saw Ouida, and Misha on the ground, Carrie and AJ gasping. I felt something grab my arm, and I looked up, and saw a blurry Kirsty, grabbing at me, almost screaming for help.

Then I saw black.


	28. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty Six: End Game (Part 2)**

Thunder rolled overhead. The blue-ish light flickered on, and my eyes fluttered opened, resistant at first, due to the brightness of the light. Then consciousness hit me. I sat up straight, but that was as far as I got, when I realized my hands were tied behind me. I felt my heart start racing, any tiredness I felt seconds before, was now gone as I stared into the darkness ahead of me.

I could see nothing, but as I sat there, I listened to the sound around me. There was only two sounds I could hear. Breathing, and footsteps. And they were heading in my direction. I tried to pull my hands free, to no avail. "Who's there?" I shouted. The footsteps drew closer. I yanked on my restraints, unsuccessfully. "Just show yourself! I prefer a fair fight!"

Suddenly the entire room lit up in bright white light. I shut my eyes quickly, almost fearing blindness.

"_Open your eyes."_

I felt my heart skip a beat, and I opened my eyes to the sound of the child's voice. In front of me, stood General Clymore. "Good," He said, "you're awake. We have things that must be done."

"What are you going to do to me?" I asked him. He smiled. "You and I… well, we're going to change the world."

"How do you figure?"

"It's simple. You will join me. You will convince your friends to join me. They will convince their friends to join me. The cycle will continue until everyone joins me."

"Where are my friends?"

"Well, let me put it to you this way… my Caroline is dealing with them. If you don't follow through, then I will kill you all. And my plan will go as before. Implanted cybernetics. Brain washing… super soldiers to keep everyone in line."

"Your super soldiers failed to stop me. There's no way they can control the world population…"

"You bring up a good point. But, with some tweaking, they can be reinvented. So, what do you say?"

"I'll never join you!"

He sighed. "That's a shame. You had such potential." He turned and started for the door, but stopped. Looking over at me, and sighed. "All of you did." Then, he left the room, and the door locked itself behind him. I yanked at my restraints hard, and let out a scream.

Suddenly the lights flickered off, then they came back on. I yanked at my restraints again, and suddenly I fell forward, out of the chair. I was free.

"_Run. He's getting away…"_

"Who's there?"

Another voice, from a man, filled the room. _"__She__'__s__not__going__to__be__happy__if__he__gets__away.__You__must__stop__him.__"_

There was a click.

I looked to the door, which was now open. I let out a breath. Outside the door, the two guards never saw it coming. I stepped out, slamming my right elbow into one, and as the other reacted, I smashed the back of my hand into his face, knocking him out cold.

In a climactic movie style scene, I moved down the corridor, a dead-set determined look on my face. I was going to stop him and end this whole thing now.

Caroline stood, staring at the girls whom were trapped inside the transparent tanks. Their hands were chained to the ceilings of the tanks, leaving their feet dragging the floor of the tank, as they each hung unconscious. She glanced at the clock on the wall, and smiled. It was almost time. If Clymore hadn't gotten the brat to join him, then it was over for all of his friends and him.

She took pleasure in just the thought of watching these little bitches drown in front her, knowing that they have no chance of survival. That was of course, when she noticed that the red head began to wake up.

Caroline stepped forward, and knocked on the glass, causing Ouida to look up, and become fully awake. She shook around, panic covering her face as she looked up at the chains holding her upright in the tank. And then she realized the tank itself. There was no exit, except for the hatch on top of the tank.

"I really do feel sorry for you."

Ouida pounded her fist against the tank. "Why don't you make it a fair fight, bitch?" Caroline smiled. "It could never be a fair fight, my dear."

"Why don't you let me out, and we'll find out!"

Caroline just laughed. "I have no time for games." Suddenly the door behind her opened and Clymore walked in. The two embraced, before he nodded back at Ouida. Caroline looked at Clymore. "Did he join us?"

"No." Clymore responded, stepping up to the glass tank. He looked at Ouida, and then turned to Caroline. "Start the pumps."

Caroline took out a remote and hit a button. There was a slow rumble. Ouida listened closely as it stopped. And the water began to pour in from a tube connected to the tank. With a surprised gasp Ouida looked over at the other tanks, with her other friends in it. Their tanks were filling with water too.

I stared down the brightly lit hall. More guards no doubt, waited for me around the corner. The only real question was, how many and how would I kill them? I started toward the corner, slowly at first, and then before I knew it, I was sprinting forward. I ran straight up onto the wall, and leapt to the left, kicking one guard in the face, before I landed on the ground. I spun around, and landed a kick into another guards face, as two more rushed me.

I defended myself against several punches, before grabbing the guard's arm, and twisted it around, as the second guard fired his side arm at me, only to hit his fellow soldier in the chest. I drew the dead guard's side arm, and fired several shots into the second guard, before releasing the dead guard onto the floor.

I stepped over their bodies, and started for the only door at the end.

The water was freezing as it rose up past Ouida's hips. She pounded on the glass, to no avail. "Let me out!" She shouted. Clymore smiled. "There is no escape. Your friend chose your fate. You can thank him in the after-life."

More pounding came from Ajmina's tank. She was awake. "Someone tell me what the fuck is happening! A wet t-shirt contest never went like this!"

Caroline just smiled as she watched the water rise.

As I approached the door, more guards stepped out in front of me. I moved without hesitation, grabbing one and slamming it's head into the wall, before slamming my left elbow into it's face and then chest, and kicking another into the…

A soldier crashed through the door. Caroline and Clymore turned. Ouida felt her body start to go numb. AJ wasn't giving up. She was still pounding on the glass. "It's him." Clymore said, as I walked through the door.

"It's over, General. You're being demoted to dumb-fucking civilian."

"Go ahead and try. It's too late for your friends!"

I looked past Clymore and Caroline, and saw the tanks. Ouida was barely awake. AJ was loosing it. Carrie, Misha and Kirsty were out of it. "No…"

I ran forward, only to be decked by Caroline. "Down, boy, down!" She stood over me and smiled. "I'd hate to have you watch your friends freeze and drown to death."

"You're right. Let me make it all right." Suddenly I punched her hard in the face. She stumbled backward, and I got to my feet. Clymore just looked at me, as I let out a deep breath. "You can hardly breath. You won't be able to kill me."

"Yeah, well…" I spat blood from my mouth, "we'll see about that."

I charged at him, and threw several punched, which he dodged and blocked easily, before he threw his own in. I ducked his blows and kicked him backward hard. He hit one of the tanks, causing it to crack.

He stood up straight and brushed himself off. "Well done…"

"Still not good enough. You're still talking."

I rushed him fast and hard, kicked and punching, sending him into a defensive position. Unbeknownst to either of us, water began to leak from the cracked tank, and the pressure of the water was causing the crack to grow.

Suddenly I felt a blow to my kidneys. I winced and turned, sending a kick into Caroline's side, as Clymore took advantage of the distraction and grabbed me from behind. "Get his legs!"

Caroline scrambled for my legs, only to get kicked multiple times in the face. She stumbled backwards, and spat blood from her own mouth this time. "Fucker!"

I pushed my weight forward, and felt my feet touch the floor, and I forced Clymore and myself face first into the floor, forcing him to release me, when suddenly there was a flood of ice cold water as the tank finally cracked completely, and left Misha hanging in the remains of the tank.

I got to my feet, and leapt over Clymore, and scrambled up to Misha. "Hey! Misha, babe! Time to wake the fuck up!" I shook her, and she moaned, her eyes fluttered open. "What the…" She jolted to full alert, as I released her from the chains using controls to the right of the tank. She dropped down to her feet, and turned for the controls to Kirsty's tank, when Caroline jumped in front of her. "Sorry, sweetie. No can do."

I looked up and saw Caroline, and started over, when suddenly I was struck from the side. I shook my head, and looked over at Clymore. "Really? Really?" I rushed over and tackled him into the wall.

A few feet away, Misha eyed Caroline. "Stand aside."

"Or what, chicky?"

"I'll fucking break your pretty little face."

Caroline did a double take. "I'd like to see you try." She retorted. Suddenly Misha ran forward, and grabbed Caroline, and rammed her knee into her stomach, before shoving her backward. "Don't worry. I'll get to your face in just a moment, bitch."

Clymore and I squared off, shoving each other into the wall over and over, throwing punches to no avail. We pushed off from each other, and I bounced back, and threw a kick at him, and he grabbed my leg and threw me to the ground. I twisted and swung my other leg around, knocking him in the face.

He stumbled to the side, as I got to my feet, and rushed him. He turned and tripped me. I tumbled to the ground, as he ran over and kicked me in the side, sending me rolling a few feet away.

"Get up, boy!"

I moaned, in an attempt to get up, but collapsed onto my belly. Across the room, Misha walked over and reached down for Caroline, to finish her, but instead, Caroline turned, a piece of glass in hand, and slashed Misha across the face. She turned away, and touched her cheek, drawing blood to her fingers. "Fuck…" She murmured. She looked at Caroline. "Who messed who's face up, huh?"

Misha turned to face her completely. Caroline stepped up, and Misha stood her ground. "You should be running…"

"You… cut me."

"I'm going to do more then just…" Caroline stopped in mid-sentence as Misha dashed forward, literally hugging her. "You were saying?" Misha asked, stepping back, revealing that a large shard of glass had impaled Caroline in the lower abdomen.

"You… cut me…"

Misha nodded slowly, as Caroline sank to her knees. "You… bitch." She breathed, before falling backwards.

I felt a boot kick me in the side. I let out a breath slowly, as he leaned down. "Listen, to me, boy. I understand your quest to protect those whom you care about. I was once in your place."

"Is that right? Well, I'm going to get some serious therapy after this, because I refuse to become like you…"

Clymore paused, smiled, and let out a short chuckle. "So, who was it? Brother? Sister? Parents?"

"My sister and my parents. Ouida's family. My friends. My co-workers."

"Surely I didn't kill them all."

"That's the thing… I can't find my family, or hers."

Clymore let out deep sigh. "Well, boy. That's the problem with war. There will always be collateral damage. To think otherwise is foolish."

"True. But this collateral is one you can reverse. If you want to live, you'll do it. Now."

"Still head-strong, are we? You're on the ground. I'm standing over you. If I let go of your hand, you fall down the endless pit."

"You underestimate… everything and everyone around you."

Suddenly I rolled over onto my back and kicked him away. I leapt to my feet, and was standing over him, the blue blade of the light saber held close to his throat. "Now. I will only ask you one more time. How do you get them back?"

Clymore reached down onto his belt, and then smiled up at me knowingly. "Well played, boy."

"I asked you a question!"

"Trust in yourself. Trust in the force."

"I'm so sick of your damn riddles!" I reached down and grabbed Clymore, and pulled him over and threw him against the wall. "Tell me how to fucking bring them back!"

"Matt!" I pointed the blade at Clymore's face. "What, Misha?"

"They're not breathing!"

I glared at Clymore. "I can not bring them back…"

"You mean you won't…"

"Don't be a fool boy. Surrender to my power."

I felt my emotions flying all over the room. "I'll never surrender to you! You have no power!" Suddenly I plunged the blue light saber blade into his chest. His expression was one I will never forget even after I die. The shock in his eyes. How he sucked in one last breath, just to release it seconds later. The way he fell to the side, unmoving. How his skin went cold and white.

I deactivated the light saber and clipped it to my belt, and ran over to Misha, where she had our friends laid out on the floor. She was attempting CPR on Ajmina. "Come on!" She hissed, as she attempted to blow air into her sister's lungs. Then she started chest compressions again.

"One. Two. Three…"

I dropped down next to Carrie, and checked her pulse. There was no pulse. I felt my hand tremble as I looked down at her body. I moved over to Kirsty. She had no pulse either. I felt a tear fall from my left eye. I moved over to Ouida. I dropped down to one knee, and palpated for a pulse.

_[-Note: Song for this scene would be "Wish You Were Here" by Avril Lavigne, from the Goodbye Lullaby album-]_

There was once again, no pulse. I felt something heavy in my chest. "No." I murmured repeatedly. "No. No. No." I felt tears fill up my eyes, blurring my vision. I fell forward, leaning my forehead again Ouida's shoulder.

And then, I let the tears flow and let out a heavy, yet compressed sob. "Why…?" I coughed, letting out more sobs. "Matt…" I felt Misha place a hand on my shoulder. I sat up, and realized the entire room was glowing in dark blue light. And it was being emitted from me.

Suddenly the light grew extremely bright, and then suddenly the room went back to normal. There was no sound, except for our breathing. Then a voice filled the air. "Matthew?"

We looked toward the door. And suddenly multiple people walked through the door. "Mom? Dad? Snips?" I was on my feet, and I embraced my family. Suddenly Tony Stark walked through the door, and I looked over at him. "Is, Rhodey around?" Misha gave him a looked, and I shook my head. "Did you… at least get 'em?"

I nodded slowly. Then I saw Doris walked in. I looked at Mom, Dad, and Rebecca. "Give me… a few minutes." Rebecca nodded. I turned and walked over to Doris, who looked at me. Rebecca, Mom, Dad, Misha, and Tony stood, and watched from a distance as I spoke to her. She broke down. I pulled her into a hug, and tried my best to comfort her, while trying my best to not break down with her.


	29. Epilogue

**Epilogue: I Want To Go Back…**

The elevator door opened, and I stepped out onto the roof of the facility. Dark clouds filled the sky in the foreground. Thunder rumbled in the distance. I could smell the rain that was coming. But everything had gone back to the way it was before. The cities were alive again. And yet, those who had died throughout the quest we'd all just gone on, were still dead.

I walked over to the edge of the building, and sat down next to Misha, throwing my legs over the edge, as she had. She wiped her face clean of tears, but she couldn't erase the redness in her eyes.

"Rain's coming."

I looked over at her, and nodded slowly. "Misha."

"Look, Matthew. You knew AJ well. But I'm her sister…" She closed her eyes. "Was, her sister. I don't need a pep-talk about how I should move on with my life…" suddenly she started to sob. I pulled her into a hug and she buried her face in my dirty shirt, as she sobbed heavily.

I made my way around back to the room. Everyone else was off securing transport back to the city, or sitting, and reflecting on what had occurred. I stepped in the doorway, and noted the four bodies that were still on the ground. I felt my hand shake as I entered the room. I moved over and sat on the ground, and leaned up against the wall, and looked over at my best friends. The ones whom I could always count on.

I had let them down.

I sighed. "I just want to go back…" I whispered.

"_Patients. You can go back. Give it a moment."_

I looked up and saw the girl in the red dress. She let out a giggle, and vanish into thin air.

"Matt…?"

I looked up, a tingle rolling down my back. "Kirsty…?"

"Everything alright?"

"I should… ask you the same thing!"

She smiled at me. Suddenly I jumped up and pulled her into a massive hug. "You're alive!"

"Great… wasn't sure there for a moment." She murmured. "What the hell?" We turned and saw AJ giving us a look. "You two, getting it on or something?"

"AJ!" I yanked her into a hug. She patted me on the back. "No, Matt. We wouldn't work out." I let out a laugh. "Well, can I get a hug too?" I turned and put my arms around Carrie, and gave her a bear hug.

"Oh. My God." We all turned and saw Doris standing there.

I stood off to the side, watching everyone greet the fallen friends whom had returned from the afterlife. It was a miracle. No. More then that. No words could describe it. I looked out the window. The storm was approaching. But it was calming to nothing more then a simple rain shower.

I took the elevator back up to the roof. Tony would be back with my Dad and a ride shortly. I stepped out, into the sunshine. It was the calm before the storm. I looked down at the city in the foreground.

The sound of the elevator door opening made me catch my breath. Ouida stepped up along side me, and looked out at the city. She took a breath of the fresh, rain-scented air and looked over at me. "I don't know who to thank more."

"Misha." I said softly, "She's the one who dragged you out of the tank."

"And what about you? Why shouldn't I be thanking you?"

"Because…" I looked over at her. "I let you die."

She was quiet for a moment, as she looked out at the city. "Maybe. But you were also busy with other problems. Not to mention you brought me back. Hell you brought us all back. Seems to me, you both deserve credit."

I shrugged. "What-ever." I murmured. A moment went by in silence. I turned to her, leaning my left arm against the railing. "Do you remember when we first met? When we first became friends?"

She paused. "Of course."

"When you become my friend, I automatically make a vow. To protect you at all costs." I twisted my mouth, thinking. "Well, at most costs." I said, honestly. "I failed that vow when you died."

"No. You didn't. You made good on it. I'm here. And I don't plan on going anywhere."

I looked over at her, and saw her smile. I couldn't help but smile back.

She leaned forward, and our lips met; softly at first, but we pushed in on each other, deepening the kiss. "Trust in yourself, like you trusted in the force." I smiled, and pulled her into another kiss as rain began to fall on our heads. "Whoa!" We turned to find everyone watching. We looked at each other, and started to laugh, as they came out to celebrate the new life we all had.

Out in the rain.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The End.<strong>_


End file.
